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ROUGH AND SMOOTH:
OR,
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I3a ! far an instralian Mt full
BY MRS. A. CAMPBELL,
AUTHOR OF “INNER LIFE,” ETC.
HUNTER, ROSE & CO., ST, URSULE STREET.
1865.
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH:
OR,
HO ! FOR AN AUSTRALIAN GOLD FIELD.
CHAPTER I.
Leaving Home — New York Ship — Bad Treatment and Provisions.
]Vj'Y Dear Children : — You have so often asked me to
tell you all about my journey to Australia, that I have
thought it advisable to write it out, to suit your comprehen¬
sion ; hoping by so doing to instruct, as well as to amuse
you by my true tale.
Perhaps I never told you why we left a comfortable home,
to travel to that distant region. The reasons were simply
these : your father, from having read a great deal about
Australia, had long looked, with a wishful eye, towards that
great colony as a future home — the fine climate, increasing
prosperity, and great natural advantages of which, were to
be desired for his children. All obstacles seemed removed
to our trying this fancied elysium in the summer of 1852,
by the ill health of your father requiring a sea voyage, and
by the cutting of our strongest tie to Canada, in the death
of my widowed mother. So we went.
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
I was urged to remain at home, while papa went first and
tried it ; but as my home was where he was, I would not
consent, and we were not separated. Our party consisted
of papa and myself ; my sister, who was then a little
girl ; my brother, a young lad who would not be left behind —
both orphans ; G., our only child, three years of age ;
her nurse, Ellen, and two young gentlemen who were going
out to this new country under your father’s care.
Now, take out your maps and find Quebec — its latitude
and longitude. Look also for Australia, and see how far,
how very far we had to go. No ships left Quebec for Aus¬
tralia at that time ; but from many ports in England, and
from New York and Boston, in the United States, there
were ships leaving frequently. Now, by finding Liverpool,
England, upon your map, and then finding New York,
United States, you will see we would save many miles by
leaving from the latter place, besides not having to cross the
stormy Atlantic, and getting at once south, into mild climate
and smooth seas; therefore, you will not wonder at our
deciding to go by the way of New York. It was a trial to
us all — leaving the city of our childhood, endeared by all
the historical associations connected with it, (of which most
young people are proud,) as well as our own fond recollec¬
tions ; but the excitement of change and novelty, and the
hopes of youth, had painted our future in bright colors.
I need not take you with me, on the journey to New York ;
it is now common road, in these days of cheap travelling.
In Montreal we remained a few days, to bid farewell to my
aged grandmother, whom I never expected to see again,
while your father went on, and returned for us, after he had
made all the necessary arrangements in New York.
The ship chosen was the Catherine Augusta , 350 tons,
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
7
Tapscott & Co., owners, rated at Lloyd’s A. 1., to sail 1st
October. Careful inquiry had been made relative to the res¬
pectability of the owners, who were bound, by his agreement
with them, to take only a certain number of passengers ; and
to guard against the tricks often played upon long voyages,
great care had been taken that the agreements should be
clear as to the provisions, &c., being of the very best kind.
Walking up Broadway one day, we saw a placard with
“ Catherine Augusta, splendid clipper ship, 1,000 tons, &c,”
upon it. 1 remarked, “ Surely, that is not our ship?”
«
Papa laughed, and said, “ It is, though, so enlarged, I sup¬
pose you do Hot know her. She is not clipper build, and
only 350 tons register. These are the tricks used to catch
the unsuspecting. These cards are sent into the Canadas,
and people there engage their passages and pay half the
money down, trusting to the truth of these statements.”
I could hardly overcome a shiver of fear at having to do
with such people, and felt thankful our agreements had been
so plain.
While in New York, I saw a dear lady under whose care I
had been at school for three years. I was quite a girl when we
parted, and she was so pleased to meet me again, and see
my husband and child, and took such a loving interest in
our concerns, that I felt many a pang of regret for thought¬
less conduct towards her in my young days. I mention
this, dear children, and trust you will not think it out of
place, that I may save you from any like sorrow, by remind¬
ing 37ou' that, next to your parents, God has placed your
teachers, and you will owe them a debt, the obligation of
which will be life-long ; and the more faithful they are, the
more affection they deserve at your hands.
The expected 1st of October had come and gone, and no
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
appearance of the sailing of the ship. We were weary of
the excuses given us every day. The old German captain,
whose intelligence and experience had made us wish to sail
with him, and the first mate, were sent away, and two
Americans put in their place. Captain Baily and Mr.
Bryant, the former of whom bought a share of the vessel,
and Messrs. Harris & Bowden, passengers, became the char¬
terers.
Seeing how things were, papa grew alarmed, and offered
$130 to be allowed to withdraw from the ship altogether, and
have his baggage returned. This was refused; nothing less
than $300 would be taken, which we thought too great' a
sacrifice, and decided to proceed in her. After repeated
remonstrances on the part of the passengers, and several
successive days had been named for sailing, we were told to
go on board ; a tug steamer towed us out into the stream,
and left us there for three more days, before the captain
came on board. In that time we found that the provisions
were bad, and the number of passengers much greater than
they agreed there should be. A letter was, therefore, pre¬
pared, stating these grievances ; and when the steamer
came in reality, on the 24th October, to tow us out, it was
sent ashore to be published in the New York and Canada
papers, as a warning to others.
Towards nightfall the steamer left us, and we proceeded
<jgi our way — my note-book says, u not rejoicing, but alone.”
I did not then sufficiently know Him who says to those who
trust in Him : a Lo ! I am with you always, evei? fo the end
of the world.” I had never been at sea before, and a lonely
feeling crept over me. I felt as if I would willingly escape
from the ship, and there was no way, and yet I would mot
leave my dear ones. We sat upon the deck till driven down
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
9
by sea-sickness, from which we suffered severely, and found
Nurse Ellen more trouble than she was worth. In a few
days we were able to drag ourselves on deck ; and all re¬
vived save dear papa, who had suffered from tape-worm, a
secret we only found out in New York, and which, if known
sooner, might have prevented our leaving home. From want
of proper nourishment, he continued so long ill and weak,
that I feared he would never recover ; and often I lay upon
the deck at night, watching the bright stars, and thinking
how light were other troubles — loss of friends, home, and
everything — to that which seemed to hang over me ; but
God mercifully heard our prayers, and he recovered. And I
could not but trace the hand of a loving Father here, in
thus preparing me for unlooked trials afterwards.
On the night we sailed a dear little baby was born in the steer¬
age, whose mother died two days after. Papa was obliged to
read the Church of England service over the body, as the cap¬
tain would not do it. The corpse was wrapped up in an old sail,
and thrown overboard, as they bury at sea. Two days after
another little baby was born; but God did not take its
mother away, and both little ones throve nicely. It was
touching to see the care taken of the motherless one by its
aged grandmother, father, and grandfather. They were a
very respectable family, who had met with misfortunes, and
were trying to better their condition by going to Australia,
which, alas ! few of them ever reached ; but I must n^
anticipate.
For the first five or six days after leaving, we had strong
northwesterly breezes, which induced the captain to make
directly in a southerly course, instead of taking the wind,
as he might, and ought to have done, to go easterly, and
thereby follow the course usually laid down for vessels
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
bound for Australia. He thought to run his chance of a
continuance of those winds for twenty days, or more, and,
consequently, gained nothing ; for, in the end, we ran too
close to Cape St. Roque, in South America, (which you will
easily find upon your map,) and could not double the cape ;
and so had to beat about for four weeks, trying to make to
the eastward, where we would have been long before, had our
ship been properly sailed. Added to our other troubles, we
were spending this time in the tropics, under occasional
burning suns and torrents of rain, such as I never saw
before ; and we often remained on deck, drenched to the
skin, in preference to inhaling the pestilential air of our
small cabin, where not one-third of us could find room to
sit down at the same time. The water for drinking, owing
to its having been put up in bad and dirty casks, was, in two
weeks’ time, black, thick, and having an intolerable smell;
and we were very thankful to be able to catch some of the
nice sweet rain water. One night we caught fifteen hundred
gallons of it ; but owing to the bad casks, it did not keep
long ; and what with musty provisions, and no live stock,
preserved meats, or fruits of any kind, we would have fared
but badly, had it not been for our own private stores.
We were six weeks before we reached the line;* and
what provisions we had were getting low — sugar, butter, and
many things quite out — and the water so bad, that the pas¬
sengers, whose spirits wrere not bright at the prospect of
affairs, feared to go the rest of the voyage in this way.
The ship also was leaky. Messrs. Harris & Bowden had
provisioned the vessel, and were looked upon as the harpies
who had preyed upon us ; and the state of feeling was not
pleasantly divided into two parties — these people, captain,
* Equat@r.
BOUGH AND SMOOTH.
11
first and second mates, and one or two of their friends, against
the injured passengers.
I am sorry to tell you that there were every day quarrels,
from petty acts of tyranny and oppression on the part of
, those who had it in their power to make the passengers, if
possible, more uncomfortable than their privations and
crowded state rendered them. You will not wonder, then,
that a protest against this treatment, to enable them to take
an action against the owners, if they ever reached Australia,
a*
should be drawn up, and presented to the captain, recom¬
mending him to put into a port. This was very uncivilly
received by lim^; and the reply given was, “ that he would
do as he pleased ; would or would not put into a port as he
liked; would choose that port himself, if he did put in,”
and ending with, he had long intended going into the port of
Rio de Janeiro. Great was the astonishment caused by the
news that we were bound to Rio, as any other port would
have been preferred, on account of the unsalubrity of its
climate. The wish was for the Cape of Good Hope ; but it
was useless to express it, and they had to be content.
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
CHAPTER II.
Sharks — Ships — Catamaran— Mollusca.
/AN our way, we saw the usual wonders of the deep ; but you
^ have all read so much about them, that it would be but
badly “ telling o’er an old tale,” to attempt a description of
the shoals of flying fish, one of which fell upon our deck ;
the sharks, of which we caught two ; dolphins, whales, stormy
petrels, or (as the sailors call them) Mother Carey’s chick¬
ens, nautilus, and all the other sights, truly wonderful to a
person to whom the sea was a new element. But while
talking of sharks, I must tell you of an escape your papa
had. One day we were becalmed in the tropics, and the
heat was excessive, the water was of that deep beautiful
blue, so clear, that you could see several feet below the
surface ; we were admiring the fishes swimming near us, and,
in particular, two small silvery ones; they were so pretty,
I begged those who were trying to catch them to spare them,
thinking it a pity to kill them. T went down to the cabin,
and from the door saw papa pass with only a flannel shirt
and drawers on. It struck me at once that he intended
taking a swim, and thoughts of sharks coming to my mind,
I rushed forward to prevent him, but was too late ; he had
jumped in, and the cry of a man overboard, caused the
people to crowd to that side of the vessel, so that I had
to retrace my steps to the upper deck, -where I called
out, “ Come up — sharks! sharks!” To my horror, I
perceived he was floating with his ears under water, and
could not hear me ; and his weakness at that time made me
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
13
doubt if he would be able to climb up by the rope now
thrown. Minutes seemed hours ; and to add to my distress,
I heard some person saying, “ The man is mad, per¬
fectly mad ; the pilot fish were here a few moments ago.”
I knew then, that the little fish, whose lives I had saved,
were those who swim under the fins of the shark, and guide
him to his prey, and that sharks must be near. At that
moment he turned, caught sight of my horror stricken face,
and, seizing the rope, climbed up. Hardly had his feet
touched the deck, when the cry, “ a shark ! a shark!” was
heard; and, sure enough, there was a monster ready for
prey. My feelings may be imagined, not described— enough
to say, the naughty one promised never to do such a foolish
thing again, and was forgiven.
The evil did not stop here, however. Little G. had
often expressed a wish, and showed a determination to go
overboard ; and as the small rope-railing of our poop deck
was open in places wide enough for a man to go through, I
was afraid she might some day carry out her desire. When
she’d say, “ I like a go overboard,” I tried to frighten
her by replying, “You would be drowned, or sharks eat
you.” One day, to my surprise, she returned a “ Papa
not drowned — sharks not eat papa ; ” and when I said, “ God
saved papa from sharks,” she asked, “ Wouldn’t God save
me, too ? ” During the four weeks we were beating about,
we had the squally weather and thunder storms common to
those regions ; one night we were frightened by the cry,
“ The ship is on fire,” but found it was only electricity
playing round the masts, like beautiful balls of blue
flame. During the fine weather, many of the gentlemen,
and some of the ladies, slept on deck, covering their faces,
lest they should be injured by the moon. In the Bible, you
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
will find a beautiful promise given the Lord's people, Psalm
cxxi, ver. 6, “ The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the
moon by night.” One requires to visit a southern clime to
understand that text well.
One morning there was a cry of “ land,” and every one
rushed on deck to see what appeared to be a huge barren
rocky island ; but neither captain or mate would tell us its
name. They would never let us know our latitude and
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longitude, or rate of sailing ; but by papa’s having kept a
sort of log and reckoning of his own, he made out that it
was the island of Fernando Noronha, which they confessed
it was, and we soon saw the coast of South 'America. We
were afterwards told by experienced navigators that our
captain was far out of his course, in taking that passage, as
it was a very dangerous one.
It was long before we saw a ship ; at last, we met
three, but only ran up an ensign to them, American
ships seldom carrying Marryatt’s signals. One morning
we were delighted by the sight of a beautiful steamer
nearing us, and were anxious to have our ensign and pri¬
vate number hoisted, that we might be reported in such
a latitude at home, and our friends would know of our
well-being so far ; but the captain said, “ She was English,
and bound for England, and he would not hoist his flag to
her.” Our appetite for breakfast was gone. A few days
after, we met a pretty barque, which ran up the “ stars and
stripes,” and was immediately replied to. As she neared
us, she was so well managed, and the passengers so pleased
with the idea of speaking a ship, that some one called out,
“ Three cheers for the little beauty,” which was responded
to most heartily, when our captain, with a voice of thunder,
called out, “Stop that noise; stop it this instant; I’ll let
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
15
you know who is master here.’* The gentlemen thought this
so rude, that few of them bowed to him again. We found,
by means of the speaking trumpets, that she was the
Sivan , a clipper barque, bound to Pernambuco, with a
cargo of flour. Her captain saucily told us “we were a
valuable cargo, and to catch him if we could,” which we
soon found impossible, as she sailed out of sight; and one
of the first objects that attracted us, on entering Rio harbour,
was our little friend. Not finding a good market for her
flour at Pernambuco, she went on to Rio, where she arrived
three days before us.
After the Swan ran away from us, nothing disturbed our
monotony, till one morning I was awakened by a slight shock
in my berth, and heard the words, “ Hard down the helm ;
we are on it.” Some feared rocks, or a wreck; others a
man overboard. I went upon deck, and learnt the cause of
the uproar ; which was, that we had run down a catamaran,
a floating raft used by the natives of South America, and
broken it up ; that there were two black men on it, one of
whom held on by the ship’s bow, and climbed up; the other
floated past on a log, and looked like a speck on the water,
before the boat could be lowered to pick him up, so that we
feared they could not save him ; but strong arms and stout
hearts can do much, and we soon had the satisfaction of
seeing him upon our deck, hugging and kissing his fellow,
and scarcely seeming to realize his safety. We found,
through a friend interpreting their Portuguese, that they
were free blacks, fishing all night. They were both asleep
when we struck them. They told us they were about twenty
miles from land — so venturesome are these little craft. Wc
soon saw lots of them in the distance, putting up their sails
and making off. We gave chase to one, but founds as the
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
sailors say, “ A stern chase is a long one.” Their owners
evidently feared we had some bad motive in view, probably
that of kidnapping them, and selling them in other slave
countries, as is often done upon that coast. At last, we
caught one, and forced upon the frail-looking thing, these
two men, with a present of a bag of biscuits, a jar of fresh
water, and some money from the passengers. The owners
chattered, and opposed receiving the two new-comers in every
possible way, but were obliged to submit, and sailed off,
looking very black.
Some of the sailors caught a beautiful mollusca, called by
them, “Portuguese man of war.” Not liking to dry it' on
Sunday, I left it in a tub of water ; an*d some person saved
me all further trouble about it, by throwing it overboard, a
joke they were fond of playing upon the towels and clothes
hung out to dry. As we were leaving the latitudes where
they are to be found, I did not get another ; but shall take
from my note-book the description of this one for you : It
was a soft pink looking shell, about four inches high and six
long, resembling mica in its clearness — the pink shades to a
deep purple in the boat part, or belly, of the little creature,
from which hang long curls, or streamers, which form at
once the ballast and weapon of defence. It has no sails,
like the nautilus, being simply one solid mass, crescent¬
shaped, and very beautiful.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
IT
CHAPTER Ill.
Trouble — Entrance to Rio — Frigate Captain — A Trick.
’ ’ pened which gave me a great deal of trouble and anxiety
and which I find difficult to explain to little people, yet which
I could not pass over. I have hinted before at the bad feel¬
ing on board. Wicked men hate those they injure, and are
often unscrupulous in carrying out their designs. This was
the case here. Every effort was made to cause a quarrel ;
and twenty-five dollars were offered by the first mate to any
of the second-class who would beat a gentleman passenger.
This was not made known till long afterwards. A dispute
arising one night between one of our young Canada friends
and the mate, your papa found himself obliged to interfere.
A scuffle ensued, and I reached the deck, alarmed by the
noise, in time to see the mate, who was .a very powerful
man, making every effort to throw him overboard. My
scream seemed to give energy to one arm, while it paralyzed
the other, for, to my relief, a sudden spring brought him
round, away from the dangerous opening. They were
separated, papa unhurt, the mate with a pair of black eyes,
which neither improved his personal appearance nor his
behaviour. Things seemed to calm down for a while after
this ; but only the calm before the storm, for we saw, by
the restraint put upon our movements, that mischief was
brewing.
»
I also had my private cares with Ellen, who had engaged
herself to Mrs. Harris, and refused to work for me. She
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
had overdrawn her wages before leaving home, had been left
a trunk of cbthes by my mother, and we had paid first
cabin passage for her, that she might sleep with her little
charges. Servants were said to be scarce in Australia, and
enticing her away, was an easy way to get one, without having
to bear the expenses of her passage out. This plan was also
tried upon the servant of a gentleman and lady who had
become great friends of ours ; but the girl, who was a
German, to the credit of her country, remained staunch.
We looked forward to reaching Rio with feelings you can
hardly comprehend. We knew that it vras an unhealthy
port ; but we felt with David of old, that it was better to
fall into the hand of the Lord, than into the hands of wicked
men, and prayers of heartfelt gratitude arose when we
sighted land again. Ellen had told me (commissioned to do
so, I thought,) that papa was to be sent back to New York
in irons, and we left in Brazil alone. Believing this, it was
no wonder she was glad to leave us, was it? When first we
came on board, the captain had opened out a few secrets of
his life, and boasted of what made us ever after despise him.
A remark he made, shortly after leaving New York, will
show you what he was. Being told that a man below was
very ill, and likely to die, he replied, “ I wish he would—
the fewer mouths to feed the better/' In point of charac¬
ter, his first mate equalled him. He had been once engaged
in the slave trade, a traffic which deadens every better feel¬
ing in human nature. The second mate was an honest,
upright German, too respectable to make a tool for his
superiors, and, therefore, not allowed a sight of the log-book
the whole voyage.
We were becalmed for twenty-four hours about four miles
from land ; and the air came wafted from the shore, richly
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
19
laden with perfume from the orange groves. Though we
found the days hot, the evenings, despite the damp, were
very delicious ; and we sometimes yielded to a feeling of
intense enjoyment, that absorbed all others ; but it was only
like the criminal condemned to die, dreaming of the delights
of freedom, home, and happiness, and awaking to the stern
realities of his fearful position, more heart-rending and
harrowing, from the taste of bliss lie had been enjoying
before.
The entrance to Rio surpasses, without exception, in beauty
of scenery, any place I ever saw. Huge towering rocks, with
occasional peeps ‘of lovely valleys, dotted with country seats,
appear on either side of the rather narrow and circuitous
winding of the entrance, before you reach the forts ; and the
luxuriance of the foliage, in some parts, formed strange
contrasts to the mountains of sand, entirely without vegeta¬
tion, seen in others. The water here loses its deep beautiful
blue, and changes to a light green, a change generally ob¬
served on nearing shore. The forts are at some distance
from the town. On passing the first, we were hailed with,
<c Where are you from?” 6i Where bound to?” This an¬
swered, we were allowed to go on, till we reached the second,
when u'e were again hailed, and told, in very good English,
to “heave to and drop your anchor.” Our captain’s wits
seemed to have gone wool-gathering in Australia, for to the
repeated command, intelligible to all of us, he kept answer¬
ing “ Australia,” and sailing on, to the apparent rage of the
officer at the fort, who, at last, fired a gun across our bows,
a proceeding which brought prompt obedience; and we were
tr
told to go back, and drop our anchor between the two guard-
ships. This done, I saw the American ensign over our
heads, run up reversed; and, missing papa, went down, and
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
found him dressing himself in his best clothes, and was told
that it was a signal of distress, and call for assistance, to any
American frigate in port ; and it was probable their threats
were now about to be put into execution, in as far as they could
carry them. 1 was begged to bear myself, as bravely as I
could. Choking down a few rebellious tears, I hurried on
deck, and was just in time to see a boat full of armed ma¬
rines, and an officer, pull alongside of us, and placing
myself by the side of the captain— an unwelcome position —
heard the officer say, “ Signal reversed, sir ; are you in
need of assistance?’’ “Yes, sir; can you come up here,
and I will tell,” was the reply. The question was put,
“ Have you been boarded by the custom-house yet?”
“ No.” “ Then I cannot go up. Can you not tell me what
you want?” “ We are in a state of mutiny, and I want
the ringleaders taken off,” said the captain. “ You shall
be immediately attended to; I must return to report.” He
was pulling off, when papa, who had just come up, inquired,
“ Is the port healthy at the present moment, sir ?” to which
the officer politely replied, “ Indeed, I am sorry to say, it
is not; yellow fever is raging, sir.”
We walked up and down the deck a few moments, chat¬
ting ; and I told him, in an undertone, what had occurred,
and that he might trust to me, to let him know all they were
going to do. We then separated, as the custom-house and
health officers were coming on board. They had no sooner
left, than the frigate’s boat was again at our side ; this time
with the captain of the frigate in her, and men armed to the
teeth. He came on board, and was invited to the cabin.
I quietly followed, and seated myself on the opposite side,
of the table to that taken by them, they having their backs
towards me. The conversation was opened by Capt. Bailey’s
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
21
saying, “ 1 called for your assistance, sir, to take off the
ringleaders in a mutiny we have had on board.” “I am
sorry to hear it,” was the reply. “ Have* you a strong
crew, and did they try to obtain possession?” “ Oh ! it
was not the crew,” said the captam ; “ the trouble was
among the passengers;” and he went on with a tissue of
falsehoods, ending with, “ and the chief ringleader, a Mr.
C - , in the middle of the night, tried to commit murder,
by seizing the first officer of the ship and trying to throw
him overboard.” Burning with indignation, I could hear
no more, and said, “ How can you dare to say such infamous
falsehoods, Captain Bailey?” At this, they both turned
round; and the frigate captain, seeing me for the first time,
bowed, and, with gentlemanly politeness, laid his cap upon
the table. Our worthy looked taken aback, at quiet me
venturing so much ; but recovering his insolent manner
immediately, laughed a “ Ha ! ha! we’ll see if we can’t
'prove that." “ I believe you to be base enough to try any¬
thing,” I replied. “ This I know ; there is not one word of
truth in what you have told this gentleman.” The latter,
with an air of great kindness, then asked me to give him my
version of the affair, which I did, as calmly and clearly as I
could. - I had just finished, when papa came into the cabin,
some one having told him I had the temerity to deny Capt.
Bailey’s statement ; and, fearing some rudeness, was not a
little surprised to find me quietly telling my story, and as
quietly listened to ; the efforts to interrupt being checked at
first by the firm autlioritive, “ A lady is speaking, sir,” of
the kind old gentleman. Saying he could not possibly be
in “ durance more vile” than the present, papa offered at "
once to go with the frigate captain, who, in a tone of sur¬
prise, inquired, u Are you the person against whom these
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ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
charges are brought ? ” “I believe I am, sir,” was the reply.
“ I am a British subject ; and here is my commission of
First Lieutenant, Militia Artillery, as proof of what I say.
I am by profession a barrister of Lower Canada, and shall,
of course, appeal to the British Ambassador for protection,
if made prisoner, as I hear is proposed.” “You have a
perfect right to do so,” was the reply. “I would not
second such a measure, and will have nothing to do with the
case. I came on board, expecting to find the whole crew
had mutinied, and this, from what I can make out, is simply
a dispute between you and the first officer, and no mutiny
whatever. I will have nothing to do with it.” Captain B.’s
remonstrances were of no avail. He then asked what he
could do, and was told that he might have an investigation
held upon the case by the American Consul, if he wished
to push the matter ; and evidently much chagrined at having
been brought a fool’s errand, when, as he said, the whole
port was in commotion at the reversal of the flag, the frigate
captain left the cabin, smiling, and bowing his farewell to me
as he did so. On deck, he said, “ You have been boarded
by both custom-house and health officers, I believe?” “We
have,” was the reply. “ Then all your passengers can go
on shore, if they like.” “ All, sir ? ” inquired papa. “All,”
he echoed, nodding pleasantly, taking his departure, carry¬
ing my most grateful feelings and good wishes with him for
his kind and gentlemanlike behavior, so great a contrast to
what we had lately been accustomed to. No doubt, long
ere this, the good captain of the frigate Constitution has
quite forgotten the circumstance. I never shall, and, cer¬
tainly, shall always remember him with pleasure. I often
thought afterwards, when the whole of the nefarious pro¬
ceedings of our captain and party towards the passengers
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
23
became known, so as to render them the abhorrence of all
right-minded people in Rio de Janeiro, he must have been
glad he refused to lend an aid towards their persecution.
I had forgotten to say that I was also present during the
conversation of Capt. Bailey with the health and custom-house
officers, and heard them ask him, “ If he intended staying
long in Rio?” to which he answered, “ Throe or four
weeks.” u Indeed ! that will be a bad thing for your pas¬
sengers, the port is so unhealthy. What will keep you so
long?” “ Oh !” was the reply, “ I have put in for repairs.
Wc have had very stormy weather, lost several sails, sprung
a le'ak in a heavy gale, and have to put into dock for a com¬
plete overhauling.’’ Nothing was said about want of pro¬
visions, &c. Of course, I reported this first information any
of us had of a heavy gale and losing sails to our friends,
who were not a little astonished at it, and the length of time
proposed to remain in Rio f and not knowing where it all
would end, felt very uneasy at the prospect of affairs.
Next morning, Dec. 23d, papa and most of the passengers
took advantage of the numerous boats crowding round us
for employment, rowed by half naked, mahogany-colored
negroes, to go ashore. It was evening before he returned,
bringing with him a basket full of oranges, bananas, and
pineapples, and plenty of news — good as regarded himself,
bad respecting the ship. He had called upon the British
Ambassador, and found him out of town, but saw his secre¬
tary, who had heard of the reversal of the flag, and laughed
most heartily at the whole case. He said they could do
nothing beyond the holding of a court of inquiry by the
American Consul, which papa might attend or not as be
pleased ; he would recommend the attendance, were it only
to expose them. He also advised our leaving the ship im-
24
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
mediately, on account of the danger of fever getting on
board, and told him of a good private hotel in St. Domingos,
a beautiful place opposite Rio, and much more healthy than
the city. Of the ship, they had all heard that a “ Yankee
trick” was about to be played upon them. The captain
would try to raise money upon her, under pretense of repairing
her. Failing in that, he would let her be condemned — the
passengers’ freight, cargo, and all — and sold, to clear off the
debts incurred; then buy her in for almost nothing, and
return, with a cargo of coffee, to New York, leaving them
in Rio. Scarcely could they believe such a thing possible,
till reminded' they were in a Brazilian port, where law and
justice are slow, and might right; and as it had already
been successfully done in many cases, it was possible it would
be in this. Shortly after, they met several English people ;
and glad to see white faces among so many dark ones, spoke
to them, and found they were* unfortunate passengers of
the steamer Fanny upon whom this very game had been
played a month before. Seventy of them had since died of
fever ; some had managed to leave Rio ; some were begging
in its streets, and the rest remaining to see what would be¬
come of the vessel. This was not encouraging news for us —
something sadly telling us the suspicions of the Rio people
were • not without foundation ; and next day, in apparent
confirmation, there appeared, in a Brazilian paper, this ad¬
vertisement: “ Wanted to borrow, on bottomry bond, $6,000,
to repair the barque Catherine Augusta .” Upon this,
papa at once secured the lodgings recommended, and began
to search for a vessel for Australia, but could not find one.
We were to leave the ship for our quarters the evening of
the day after Christmas — waiting that long, that he might
submit to the investigation, the notice of which the mate
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
25
had triumphantly served upon him. Nearly all on board
offered themselves as witnesses, saying they could soon clear %
him, a fact which I alone doubted — visions of his being sent
back to New York in irons, rising up like a phantom, and
scaring away comforting thoughts.
26
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
CHAPTER IY.
*
Visit to Rio — Hurricane— The Case — Mr. Vernon — Narrow Escape.
THE day before Christmas I paid my first visit to the
shore. I was disappointed in the aspect of the city as
we neared it. Laying at a distance, Rio seems to be a city
of palaces, rising above one another, and giving one an idea
of a people far advanced in the luxuries of civilization. All
this vanishes on a closer acquaintance. Narrow, filthy streets,
with dirty houses, covered with tiles, meet your eye at every
turn ; and the state of the sickly looking inhabitants, and
the number of wretched slaves, either chained in gangs,
working half naked, and covered with boils, sometimes with
tin masks on their faces, locked behind as a punishment,
bodies deeply scarred, and cut into with the flagellator,
sadden and sicken you. Here the evil of slavery’s curse
and the want of Gospel light are very apparent : nowhere
are the masses in a more degraded state than in the capital
of the Brazils. I found out all this after having had some
experience in the delights of Brazilian society. On this,
my first visit, novelty, indeed, did not, as usual, “ charm.”
My own troubles weighed heavily, and the sympathy warmly
excited for the miserable beings around me, made me blind
to the attractions papa was trying to divert me with, and
whose charms women are usually not behind in acknowledg¬
ing — the shop windows, filled with beautiful and costly
articles, dressed for Christmas. Poor slave ! I kept think¬
ing our blessed Saviour indeed came on earth to save you
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
27
as well as us, and yet how few of you ever hear of it. What
is Christmas, merry Christmas, to you ? It did not promise
to be very merry for myself. I soon bought the toys I
wanted for the poor children, not wishing them to feel more
of our sorrows than I could help ; and resisting all the offers
of presents for myself, prepared to return with much greater
alacrity than I could have thought possible on a first visit to
an empire city. By the time we reached the wharf, the sky,
which had been clear, with a suffocatingly hot air, over¬
clouded, and a wind had sprung up, circling round and
carrying with it clouds of sand and dust. In spite of our
entreaties, as it was late, backed with what seldom fails to
move a negro — promise of extra pay — the boatmen refused
to go to the ship till the storm was over, telling us, what we
could not believe, it would not last half art hour. Finding
we could not shake their determination, we had to submit,
and return to the Hotel Pharo, near the wharf, where they
were making active preparations for the hurricane, as they
called it — shutting up windows and dropping curtains over
them, bolting doors, &c., all of which was scarcely finished
when the storm burst over us — thunder, lightning, rain, and
wind, seeming to strive which wrould have the mastery. I
wras much frightened ; and papa proposed that wre should
remain all night where wre wrere. This I did not like to
agree to, not wishing to leave the children on board without
me, and hoping, in spite of our unbelief, that the boatmen’s
prediction would prove true — that the storm would be over
in half an hour; and, sure enough, to our delight, it was,
leaving the air as cool and delightful, as it had been hot and
insufferable before, though its effects did not subside so
quickly on the water, as the sea wras running so high, that
the boatmen begged for a respite of another half hour, which
28
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
was not given them. We, however, reached the ship safely,
and slept soundly, tired with our walk on the hot pavements.
IN ext day, Christmas — my birth-day — proved to be a fear¬
fully hot one. We could do nothing but lie on the deck and
fan ourselves, and had hardly energy enough to wish each
other the compliments of the day. The children were quite
put out by having no pudding, and would not believe it was
Christmas at all. The following morning — the eventful
2Gth — all went ashore, the second-cabin passengers dressed
in their best, to be near and ready to give their testimony,
should it be required — their own grievances absorbed in their
anxiety as to the result of the case. I occupied myself in
packing one or two trunks, to take ashore with us in the
evening, and locking up the rest till I could return for them.
Ellen, being perfectly sure our sun was set, never offered me
any assistance, but continued as contumacious as ever. 1
confess to the heaviness of that day; and I look back upon
it as the most anxious one of my life, and the effort to con¬
ceal all suffering, perhaps made it the harder to bear.
It was four o’clock before a boat came from the shore.
As it neared us, a kind old gentleman, a Jew, (who died of
fever shortly after,) was the first to see me, and, taking off
his hat, waved it round his head to me. It was enough. I
knew all was well ; and my eyes became so dim, I could see
nothing more. Another moment, quick steps were upon the
ladder ; and I heard the gleeful shout of “ Hurra, we’ve
won,” and turning, saw the capers into the air of my brother
and young Mr. C., who scarcely seemed to know if they stood
upon their heads or their heels. Both hands went to papa,
who came forward and said, “We have won, my wife; but
show no delight, no triumph. We must not crow over fallen
enemies. Get yourself and the children ready quickly.
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
20
We will leave in this boat.” I could not obey at once, my
hand was so seized and shaken on all sides, two other boats
full having arrived. When, at last, I got down, I found
Ellen looking rather crestfallen. She came forward, offer¬
ing to help me, and saying she was so delighted I was going
to leave the “ nasty ship, and live in that beautiful country
place,” and wished I would “ take her, too, as Mrs. Stolz
had Anna.” I quietly hushed her by saying, “ Anna was
Mrs. Stolz’s servant ; you are not mine.” When ready to
leave, the good second mate came forward in evident distress,
and apologized for not having the chair rigged to lower me
down, as all the other ladies had, saying it was the express
orders of his superior, before leaving, that “ Mrs. C. was to
gp down the side of the ship.” I laughed, and told him
not to mind it — I was young, active, and did not fear, and
the children would be easily managed. When the second-
cabin passengers saw this little bit of spite, they wanted to
give three groans for Mr. Bryant; but papa quieted them,
by reminding them of their promise to let him oft' without
a word.
I got down, narrowly escaping a cold bath, from the diffi¬
culty in keeping the boat near, as the wind was blowing
fresh, and the waves pretty high. Just as I was seated, the
captain’s boat came up ; the mate was steering, and dashed
the boat into us, as if to upset us. He looked wicked enough
to do it ; but, no doubt, the sight of the bulwarks, all lined
with heads, made him fear that if he threw us into the water,
he would not be long in following.
While going to the shore, papa gave me the particulars of
the case, which I shall shorten as much as possible, still
leaving his own words : “ I left my witnesses (about twenty}
outside of the Consul’s room. On entering, I found all the
5
30
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
party before me. I first objected to the jurisdiction of the
Consul acting as judge in a foreign country. This was held
good ; and he told me, 4 It was simply an investigation of
the matter,’ to which I said, 4 I was perfectly willing to
submit.’ I next objected to the mate’s witnesses being all
in the room together, which caused stormy opposition, but
which objection was also held. From this arose the most
contradictory evidence on their part — what one said was
white, the other made black ; and when I came to my gen¬
tleman, the mate himself, and put him under a cross-
examination, he so lost his temper, that I had twice to claim
the protection of the representative of his country to keep
him quiet. When finished, I refused to call any of my own
witnesses, resting the case upon their own evidence. The
Consul approved of this ; and on dismissing the action said,
4 Had he been placed in Mr. C.’s position, he probably would
have acted as he did;’ and after soundly rating Master
Bryant, wound up with, 4 Before you attempt to command
others, sir, learn to command yourself.'
44 My people outside were in such spirits at the result of the
affair, that they proposed an adjournment to the Hotel Pharo,
4to stand treat,’ which, as I am a Son of Temperance, was passing
off very innocently, when in strode the mate, saying, 4 he want¬
ed satisfaction.’ At this, up jumped 4 Canada Jim,’ a strapping
fellow of six feet, from the second cabin, and with a 4 leave
him to me, sir; I’ll settle him,’ said, 4 You want satisfac¬
tion, do you, Mr. Bryant? I’m ready to give it. Here
goes,’ catching him by the collar, and giving him a kick^
4 and here — and here,’ carrying him before him, amid the
' roars of the bystanders, till he dropped him outside of the door?
which he did not venture to re-open, as the greatest bullies
are always the greatest cowards, you know.”
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
31
I could not help laughing as papa finished his story, the telling
of which almost convulsed himself, but said, I thought it hardly
fair to lynch-law Mr. Bryant in that style. The gentleman,
however, thought the second-cabin passengers might lead a
better life for the future, as he would certainly respect
their champion's strength of purpose.
By this time we had reached the beach, in front of our new
residence, with which 1 was charmed at once, as it was a fine
large house, and pleasantly situated. We followed papa up
stairs, into the apartments provided for us, where he sat G. (who
had slept in his arms the whole way) down upon the floor to
awaken her. Opening her eyes, she looked around in
astonishment, rubbed them, and looked around again ; then,
as if comprehending where she was, jumped up, and ran
about the room, screaming, “A houfe — a dear houfe,”
meaning house, climbing on the sofas and into arm-chairs, as
if they were old friends, and her delight did not subside for sev¬
eral days. We were scarcely less pleased than Miss G.
Our rooms were large and airy, our private sitting-room
commanding a view of the beautiful bay, the waters of which
seemed almost to dash against our door. After our friends
had sufficiently admired all, and congratulated us upon our
pleasant change, they returned to the ship, sorry the already
deepening shades of evening would not allow them to remain
to tea. After they left, wc had our cosy tea-table to our¬
selves, at which I presided ; and long did we linger over it,
enjoying the delights of an uninterrupted chat, and truly
thankful for our many mercies. After the children were
in bed, we strolled upon the beach for half an hour, quite
regardless of the heavy damps, and the numerous musquitoes,
and lost in admiration of the beauties of the bay by moon¬
light. The tinkling of guitars, and the sound of sweet
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
voices, heard in the distance, made us almost fancy ourselves
transported to fairy-land. That night our sleep was undis¬
turbed, even by dreams ; and though we were not exactly
“ up with the lark,” because there are none in Brazil, we
certainly lost none of the lovely morning in bed. As soon
as we were heard stirring, our hostess brought in a large
dish of ripe oranges, telling us they were more wholesome
before breadfast than at any other part of the day, and we
soon got into the habit of always eating them then.
Time kept flying, and found us still at St. Domingos,
without the slightest prospect of ever reaching Australia,
and, indeed, little of ever getting away at all. The few
vessels leaving were either filled, or did not take passengers ;
yet had it not been for our increasing anxiety about the
fever, to which papa was much exposed, our stay in Brazil
would have been one of much pleasure — there is so much to
see, so much for a lover of the grand and beautiful in nature
to admire, and the people were so hospitable, inviting us,
though perfect strangers, to many dinners and parties,
few of which we accepted. One night, however, we dined
with a Mr. Vernon, a young English merchant, who had
made Rio his home for several years ; and I must tell you
of a funny story about him. A boat race having been got up
by the Emperor, with a gold cup as prize, Mr. Vernon entered
his own boat, rowed by young Englishmen, himself being
stroke-oarsman. Of course, the brawny arms of the chil¬
dren of Old Mother soon carried them to the goal most vic¬
toriously. The Emperor was in raptures, and made a very
pretty speech, giving Mr. Vernon the cup with his own hands.
That gentleman, who could use his arms better than his
tongue, was so taken aback, that, after an awkward pause,
in which he was expected to say something, bluntly and
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
warmly, came out with, “ Your Majesty’s a brick.” This
could hardly be translated to the bystanders ; but when the
idea was conveyed to them, it elicited great laughter, loud
applause, and a hearty shake of the Emperor’s hand, who
appreciated the compliment, and took all the young English¬
men home to dine with him, ever after remembering Mr.
Vernon with kindness.
We saw but little of papa all day, as he devoted his ser¬
vices to those who had not deserted him in his hour of need,
going from consul to consul, and from ship to ship, in Rio,
and running great risk from contagion. The passengers’
position was becoming more and more harrowing, from the
spread of sickness among them, owing to their crowded state,
and the bad food served out to them.
The captain refused to send on the vessel to Australia, or
to furnish means for them to get on in other vessels, and
even refused to give up the cargo belonging to them. They
had offered to appoint their own surveyor, conjointly with
his, to hold a survey upon the ship, as some of them were
ship-builders, and carpenters by trade, and thought a small
sum would make her quite sea-worthy, which they offered
the American Consul to advance themselves, and to pro¬
vision her. This was refused. Although by far the greater
number on board were British subjects from the Canadas,
the British Consul could give them no redress, as they had
sailed under the American Hag, though he exerted himself
in every way to better their condition, in getting them food
and employment. Many Brazilian families also charitably
helped the sufferers. It may be wondered why the American
Consul did nothing. The reason he gave was, that the Uni¬
ted States had only lately become a country from which there
was emigration, and, therefore, had no laws empowering him
34
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
to act, for the protection of emigrants, save in California.
To their credit, however, the representatives of other coun¬
tries were not behind the English in doing their best for
these people ; and none worked so hard as a dear old gentle¬
man, the Dutch Consul, who had taken a great fancy to papa,
and showed him much friendship.
Finding it necessary to bring the rest of our baggage
from the ship, papa proposed going for it, but finally yielded
to my entreaties, to let my brother and myself do it for him,
as I always lived in dread of his meeting the mate. I found
Ellen still on board. Mrs. Harris had cast her off, and I
promised to get her a place and a passage, if possible. As
I was bidding them farewell, an old lady gave me a beautiful
nautilus shell, as a keepsake. While waiting on the deck
for the boxes to be lowered into the boat, I was almost
stunned by a block falling at my feet, and dashing the
nautilus out of my hand into a thousand pieces. The front
of my bonnet was also bent by it. Looking up, I saw the first
mate arranging the rigging, and nearly fainted with fear. I
am willing to suppose it was accidental ; yet strange, the very
argument used by a friend that morning, on joining his per¬
suasions to mine, to prevent papa going, was, “ The mate
might let a block fall, quite accidentally , you know, upon
your head from above, and kill you/’ The people who saw
it, were horrified at the escape I had had ; and one of them
said, “ Make haste, Mrs. C., and get out of this ship — it is
not a lucky one for you.” An Almighty hand alone saved
me that day.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
35
CHAPTER Y.
Brazilian Living — Productions — Musquitoes — Ship— Off — Voyage.
JN mode of living, the people of Rio differ little from
ourselves. Their houses are, for the most part, well
furnished, with polished floors, in lieu of carpets. Having
no chimneys, the kitchens are in the upper story, and the
smoke created, by the heating of their brick ovens once a
day, escapes through the openings of the tiles in the roof.
The ladies dress richly, and are not, generally speaking,
handsome, though possessing the redeeming quality of large
dark eyes. From living so much in-doors, they grow enor¬
mously stout, and roll rather than walk. All who can afford
it, keep carriages, drawn by two or four mules, horses being
expensive, and not fitted for the mountainous roads. In
personal appearance, the men present a striking contrast to
the women, being small, dried-up looking creatures, and
having a most universal ugliness. They are much addicted
to smoking, beginning at what we would consider a baby’s
age, but they are moderate in the use of liquors. Theatres,
masquerades, and amusements of all kinds, are well patron¬
ized by the people of Brazil. We saw some amusing torch¬
light processions. The actors were all gaily dressed, and
danced through the streets, to the music of a band, women,
in white dresses and satin shoes, performing pirouettes through
a mud-puddle. We visited the town residence of the Em¬
peror, and were disappointed with it, many of the wealthy
citizens having finer houses. Outwardly, it presents the
36
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
appearance of* a prison, and the square it is built in, is by
no means a handsome one. The churches are beautifully
decorated inside, and some of them are very large. Papa
visited several very fine monasteries, the chapels of which
were fitted up in the most costly style, and having many
fine old paintings. He was kindly received by the priests,
who took pains to show him everything they thought might
interest him. He was anxious that I might also see them,
and asked if he might bring me, but the poor monks seemed
horrified at the request, telling him, “ a woman was never
allowed there.” In religion, the people are all Roman
Catholic ; and here there is less vitality, and more formality
with it, than is to be seen in countries where there is a
greater mixture of religions. In Rio there is but one
Protestant Church, and it had a very small congregation,
principally strangers, and I was told it was the onl}' one in
Brazil. A good deal of attention is paid to the numerous
gardens in the vicinity of Rio, as the sale of the fruit is
very profitable, and forms generally the pin-money allowed
to the ladies, who employ their negresses to retail it, even
on Sunday, about the streets. We went to see several of
them, and found them kept in neat order, the flower-beds
being bordered with pretty shells, and in very tasteful
arrangement. Vegetation is here very luxuriant, almost too
rank for the health of the inhabitants. Many delicious
fruits grow in perfection — oranges, banana, pineapple, sweet
lemon, tamarinds, &c. ; but they did not equal, to our taste,
the peaches, apples, strawberries, plums and wild fruits of
our northern country. Potatoes, wheat-flour, corn, and
many of our necessaries, have here to be imported ; and,
from the want of tender grass, the beef and mutton is
coarse, and the milk thin and watery. Poultry is very
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
37
scarce, and the fish inferior. They have many vegetable
products only produced in warm climates, such as manioc
flour, yams, and various other sweet-tasting roots, not pleas¬
ing to our palates. Coffee and sugar are here produced
abundantly ; and we also saw the various spice shrubs ; but I
do not know whether they are cultivated to a sufficient ex¬
tent to admit of their being an article of exportation. We
admired the brilliancy of the plumage of the Brazilian birds
very much, though their notes were discordant and harsh.
The parrot here exceeds in beauty and size any I ever saw.
The monkeys afforded the children a great deal of amuse¬
ment, watching their antics, climbing trees, mocking and
grinning at them. We found the country also plentifully
supplied with ants, baratan, centipedes, scorpions, fleas, and
musquitoes, the two last being the most abundant, were also
the most troublesome. The flea lays an egg in the flesh,
particularly in the feet, which, if not soon removed, pro¬
duces violent inflammation, and is exceedingly painful. The
musquitoes were so troublesome, that we had to walk the
floor many nights, sleep being impossible, in spite of good
musquito bed-curtains. The children’s faces and arms were
in a fearful state, the hot weather turning the bites into
running sores. One night they were so bad, that after
smoking the house several times, the gentlemen could stand
it no longer, and went and sat out of doors, smoking, till
morning. One of them, a young Swedish captain, declared
he would rather risk the fever on board his ship, than be
tormented in that way any longer. The others tried to
laugh him out of it ; but he left, and a few days after dfed
of fever. His sad fate made us bear our little tormentors
more patiently. The lizards here are very large, and of a
brilliant green ; the animal, in form and motion, is anything
6
38
KOUGH AND SMOOTH.
but pleasing. They used to run up the walls, and enter the
rooms ; and we always examined our beds at night for fear
of an intruder, though they are very harmless, which cannot
be said of the numerous snakes, whose bite is deadly, a per¬
son rarely living, I was told, more than an hour after getting
♦
one.
After being about a month living at St. Domingos, at no
small expense, we heard of a vessel leaving, bound for Havre,
in France ; and as every hour’s delay was dangerous to us, the
fever having carried off twenty of our people, papa visited
her, to take our passages, to get away from Rio — anywhere.
He found every sailor on board down with fever, which
caused him to hesitate, and take one day’s consideration,
that he might consult a doctor, who told him, on no account,
to go in her, as we would surely take the fever by infection ;
and even did we not, we had been too long in Rio, to go
north through the tropics again, without taking it. After we
left port, our only chance of escape lay in going south into
a cold climate at once.
That afternoon, a Dutch vessel, bound for Australia, put
in for provisions. Scarcely crediting the good news, papa
flew to his friend, the Dutch Consul, who said she was full,
but that he would make the captain take us, even if he had to
give up his own state-room, as it would be such a good thing
to get on board of a ship laying out in the bay, and not
putting into the wharves at all. In three days from this, we
bid good-bye to our Brazilian friends, and went on board the
Matliilde , Captain Weyburg. We found her a fine large '
Dutch East Indiaman, flush deck, with which I was well
satisfied, as there was not so much danger of Miss G.’s
going overboard. We were obliged to pay as much passage
money as we had in the first instance, from New York. The
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
39
captain had put in for provisions ; and his charterers having
no agents there, he raised as much money by us as he could.
Thus people are always found ready to take advantage of
the misfortunes of their fellow-creatures. Papa also laid
out £12 in stores for the children, and wines, in case of
sickness. Three of our second-cabin passengers got on
board — two as sailors,. paving fifty dollars each, and working
their passages, and one as steward, for which he paid sixty
dollars. Although a large ship, she had not been fitted for
passengers, and the captain was obliged to give up his state¬
room to us — my brother and the two young gentlemen we
had in our charge sharing one bed, by taking it different
watches* during fine weather, and in bad, sleeping on the
cabin floor, thankful for even that, to get away. For Ellen
I got a place as chambermaid at the hotel where we had
boarded ; and papa gave her sixty dollars, in case she should
have to pay her passage on. The British Consul promised
to remember and forward her to Australia, if possible.
Would you believe, that in spite of all this, she made me
cut open a large tin case, in which my most valuable things
were soldered up, to get out a few trifles which I had given
a place in that box. Of course, not being able to get it
closed up again, the things in it were nearly all ruined when
I reached Australia, a velvet cloak being green with mildew.
We left her, however, with light hearts. We were much
amused the evening before we sailed by a visit from the
hotel-keeper with whom Captain Bailey, his wife, child and
servant had been boarding. He came to tell us he had been
obliged to turn the gallant captain Out of doors, not having
had one farthing of payment from him, and to ask what
could be done against him ; but we could not tell him, as
* Divisions of time on board ship.
40
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
the captain had no effects he could seize, and even had he,
the Brazilian law was so defective, he might gain nothing.
Poor man, we sympathized with him ; he was one more
victim, and we never afterwards learned if he recovered
anything in payment.
On th 3 21st of January we left Rio, not a little grateful,
to find ourselves leaving a place we had almost given up all
idea of ever getting away from, and having our little band
all safe. Captain Bailey had seen Captain Weyburg, and
tried to frighten him from taking us, but was too late, as
our money was paid. He used to laugh afterwards when
telling us how frightened the captain’s stories had made him
of us. The day after sailing, one of our Catherine Augusta
passengers, who had become a sailor, was taken ill with
yellow fever, and in a few days died; and your father had
again to perform the sad task of burial. Happily, the fever
did not spread, and this was the last we saw of it.
In two weeks we found the weather very cold, and were
glad to put on furs, feeling it more, from having been roasting
so long under a tropical sun. We saw white pigeons, gulls,
and albatrosses in abundance. The sailors caught many of
the latter, killing and eating them. They are a fine large
bird, some of those we caught measuring ten feet from tip
to tip. When brought on deck they cannot rise from it, and,
strange to say, become at once sea-sick. They are a very
ravenous bird, and are called the marine vulture. A sailor
told us of an instance of a boy’s having fallen overboard
from a vessel, on which he had been, and before the boat
could be loured, and get to his assistance, the albatrosses
were around him in numbers, and had picked out his eyes,
although every effort had been made, by throwing large
pieces of beef, to draw them away from him. Our passen-
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
41
gers spared all the gulls, the sailors having a prejudice
against tfyeir being killed. We saw this with regard to a
bird that was caught, called the “parson”; — black, with a
white throat. They showed the greatest of uneasiness about
it ; and were much pleased when, at our intercession, it was
spared, on condition that I would work a collar, with the
name of the ship, day of the month, year, and latitude and
longitude on it, which I Soon did, with white cotton or red
flannel, and the prisoner was set free.
After we passed the Cape of Good Hope, on the 20th of
February, we had a strong gale, with head wind, which lasted
two days, and broke our mizen boom. I went on deck to
see the storm, and the mountain waves, each one seeming
%
as if it would swallow us up. How utterly insignificant
man feels at such a time. Truly, we are in the hands of a
kind and merciful Father, who not only permits us to see
His works and wonders on the deep, but, not the least
wonder of all, brings us so safely through the danger of
them. A poor little Mother Carey’s chicken took refuge on
deck, and was brought down to the cabin to show G.,
who was so pleased with it, that she wanted to keep it, say¬
ing, “ She liked dear wee birdie like that, not big albatrosses
who ran about deck trying to bite you.” After giving in
shelter for the night, we let it fly. On the 27th we had
snow. 8th of March we sighted the islands of St. Paul and
Amsterdam. The captain was anxious to see these islands,
to know if his calculations were correct, and found that we
were 100 miles further on than he thought we were. The
10th of March was G. ’s birth-day; and we gave her
little presents, and made her so pleased, that she wanted
next day to be birth-day too. March 17th, St. Patrick’s day,
was a noisy one on board. A Mr. Black sold spirituous
42
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
liquors of all kinds; and you may suppose there was
much fighting in the steerage. The doctor was nearly
beaten to death in his berth, in the second cabin, and the
person who did it next day apologized, saying he had not
the slightest ill-will to him, and had he been sober, never
would have thought of such a thing — small reparation for the
black eyes and bruised face of the unfortunate doctor, who
was good enough to forgive him, and promise not to prose¬
cute him in Melbourne. March 28th, we were sixty-seven
days from Rio, and saw our first sail. What rapture it gave
us, after almost fancying ourselves the only ship on the
ocean. The morning was red and lowering, and by dinner
time we had a perfect hurricane, which, though it only lasted
ten minutes, tore three sails to ribbons, and broke an iron
bar, as thick as a man’s arm, short off, so easily, that the
captain feared the rudder would be the next to go, as it re¬
quired the united strength of four men to turn the wheel.
We were all frightened, except G., who, as she was
tossed from side to side of the sofa by the rolling of the
ship, kept laughing with delight, and calling out, u Here I
goes, here I goes ; ” and even in spite of our fears, a glimpse
into the second cabin, facing ours, set us all laughing. It was
also dinner-time with them, and plates, dishes, and knives,
scorning all guards, went flying over people’s heads in wild
confusion ; barrels of biscuit, pork and beef came from
their hiding places, in snug corners, and went dancing about,
to the great danger of the legs of those trying to get out
of their way— while buckets of dish-water, meat, pudding
and sauces made the floor so slippery, that those who tried
to take refuge in their berths, falling, in vain attempted to
rise, and went sliding, with every roll of the ship, from side
to side, hands, faces and hair well bedaubed with the float-
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
43
ing mixture, which they were afterwards at some trouble to
get rid of, for things had amalgamated which had probably
never met together before. When within four days sail of
Melbourne, ^e buried another of our fellow-passengers, a
young man in the steerage, the only remaining son and sup¬
port of his old parents, who were with him. They had
hoped he would have lasted till they had reached shore ; and
his death was a great grief to them, more especially, as
being a Roman Catholic, he died without benefit of clergy.
Poor people, they could not understand that Jesus is every¬
where, but thought he was only to be found under the shadow of
the priestly garment. They were simple, pious people, and
one could not help feeling sad to think of the delusions they
were under. The poor old man would be up all night, pray¬
ing to all the saints in the calendar to intercede for him, not
knowing that “ there is but one Mediator with God the
Father, the man Christ Jesus.” 2nd of April, provision
day, the discovery was made that we were out if salt beef, tea,
coffee, rice, beans, and flour, and the pork did not promise
to hold out long. We had been some time without the
et ceteras — as potatoes, molasses, mustard, dried apples, and
such things ; indeed, we had been but badly supplied with
provisions. Mr. Black’s family were the only first-cabin
passengers, besides ourselves, and they had seized upon all
the dried and preserved meats and fruits put on at Liverpool,
saying, we were only the captain’s passengers, not the char¬
terers, and had no right to them. We submitted to this bit
of injustice, which was not as bad as their selling spirits,
and robbing the poor people of the little money they ought
to have had in landing. April 3rd, we sighted land ; and as
the captain had never been in Australia before, was cautious,
sailing only in day-time, laying to at night.
44
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
t
CHAPTER VI.
Entrance to Melbourne — Friends — Appointment to Ovens — Climate of
Melbourne- -Letter.
T^NTERING Port Phillip harbour, the scenery is soft and
pleasing. There is a sm&ll fort at the entrance; and we
hoisted a flag for a pilot, who came and took us half a mile
further, to a safe anchorage, pointing out to us several wrecks
of vessels stuck on rocks around us. We felt grateful that
we had entered so safely. Next day, and the next, we were
proceeding quietly on, with two other vessels, under the care
of the pilot, till noon, when we dropped anchor in Hobson’s
Bay, with Williams Town on one side, and Melbourne, up
the Yarra, on the other. We were soon surrounded with
boats of all kinds — custom-house and health officers, butchers
and bakers ; it was quite ridiculous to see the way we all
plyed these poor men with questions. Of course, we were
inquisitive as to the prices of necessary articles in Mel¬
bourne, and were not a little shocked at the information we
received, which afforded no small amusement to our informers,
as they richly enjoy what they elegantly term u gulling a
new chum,” though there was much of truth, as we after¬
wards found to our sorrow, in what they told us. Papa had
the satisfaction of hearing that the vessel his brother had
left England in had arrived eight months before. We found
the custom-house officer was from New Brunswick, and had
the same name as ourselves ; so we looked upon each other
as friends and neighbors, if not relations at once. Strange
how absence from home opens the heart to all who come from
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
45
any place near it — how much it does towards those who come
from it I was afterwards to find out. By the time we had
passed through the hands of these gentlemen, it was too late
to think of going ashore ; and we spent the evening walking
the deck, talking over all that had been told us. They had
left us some Argus newspapers. In the latest of them we
saw this funny advertisement: “ Wanted, a Lieutenant-
Governor. Apply to the people of Victoria. Wanted, a
Colonial Secretary. Apply to the same.” The passengers
all jokingly told papa here was a chance for him. There
were numerous ships laying around us. Here we saw one
in quarantine from Liverpool ; 101 of its passengers died of
ship fever on the way out. How it humbled us, to think of
our unnumbered and undeserved mercies, not the least
of which was our exemption from yellow fever in leaving
Bio. Here wc saw vessels from all parts of the world —
English, Dutch, French, Swedish, and Chinese ; and the
shades of evening deepened around us, and found us still
admiring and chatting, and chatting and admiring.
Next morning, papa went ashore to search for friends and
lodgings, leaving us to finish our packing before taking our
final leave of the old Matliilde , which, on the whole, we would
*
be sorry to leave. We had been tolerably comfortable,
liked the captain, officers, and many of the passengers much,
and the time had not hung heavily. I sewed, and taught
the children, read, and crocheted, and papa devoted a large
part of every day to go on with the education of my brother.
In the evening he got back, with much to tell. He had
found his young brother and some other friends ; but was
disappointed in not meeting a gentleman in the commissariat
department from home, who had been ordered to Australia.
He had left Melbourne, and gone to his station, several
7
46
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
thousand miles away. He had sailed about the time we did ;
hut our unusual length of voyage had made us miss him.
After spending several days, hunting all over Melbourne,
going wherever he heard of people of our name, he recom¬
mended us, should we ever turn up, to the kind offices of the
head of his department there, who had himself spent many
years in Canada, and whose wife was a Canadian by birth,
and knew many of our friends. Consequently, when papa
called at the office, he found himself expected, warmly re¬
ceived, and begged by Mr. B. to look upon him as an old
friend at once, and use him as such. So thoroughly in
earnest was he, that he said, “ Now tell me what is the first
thing you want to do?” And when told to find lodgings,
replied, “ Well, bring your family to my house, and we will
take our time to look about for them, as they are scarce.”
With grateful thanks, this kind offer was refused, saying,
that as we had a great deal of baggage, and our little girl
not well, it was better to make only one move. Finding
this determination was not to be shaken, he took up his hat,
and, arm in arm, they started lodging-hunting. After try¬
ing the filthy hotels and every boarding-house Mr. B. knew
of, to no purpose, they called upon Mrs. B., to see if she
could direct their way for them. On telling of their non¬
success to her, she directed them to a new house, only opened
four weeks before, on the next street, on very exclusive
principles, and thought it might suit. Off they started —
this time successful. The exclusiveness was overcome by Mr.
B.'s introduction, and the payment of two weeks in advance,
at £15 sterling per week, for a small bed-room for ourselves
and children, and a bed in a room with some other young
men for my brother. We were congratulated, not only
upon getting lodgings at all, but upon getting them so
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
4T
cheap for Melbourne. Papa had taken his papers ashore
with him, (recommendatory letters from people at home,
address of the Quebec Bar upon his leaving, &c.,) and
called upon the Colonial Secretary, thinking it best to have
no mauvaise Jionte in such a place, and under such circum¬
stances, and had applied for a situation. He was very well
received, and his papers highly approved of, and wTas told
that the office of Police Magistrate for the Ovens Gold Fields
was open ; that the recommendations would be placed before
His Excellency, and, he thought, with every chance of suc¬
cess, as they wanted to fill it with a well qualified person,
who had a knowledge of law. All this was very satisfactory
news to me ; and it is hardly necessary to say, night again
surprised us, our thoughts busy planning, and our tongues,
as usual, not slow in communicating our plans.
Nine o’clock next day we left the ship, in a small steamer,
well filled with baggage. As we pushed off, and bowed our
farewell to those on board, three cheers were raised for papa.
We were touched with this mark of respect, as upon him
only was it bestowed, rightly considering that the other first-
cabin passenger, Mr. Black, was unworthy of it, from having
made such a shameful traffic on board. We had to follow the
windings of the narrow Yarra, and were not a little disap¬
pointed with it. We had read much of its beauty, and
the charming landscapes around it, and found it a filthy little
muddy stream, the only variety in the monotony of the
scenery being an occasional shed for the washing of wool,
surrounded with skins and filth of every description, from
which proceeded an odour anything but agreeable. Here
and there, would be seen a dead cow, or bullock, lying on the
banks in a state of putrefaction ; while the brown and with¬
ered grass, and the miserable stunted trees, gave us but a
48
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
►* 'J
poor idea of the fertility of the soil surrounding the chief
city of Australia Felix. One old lady from the green isle of
Erin, with tears trickling over her withered cheeks, kept up
a lament over there being “ no grass here, and nothing
green to cheer one’s heart.” Certainly, shamrocks could
not have grown upon the banks of the Yarra.
We reached the wharf at eleven o’clock, and found
kind Mr. B. waiting for us. He warmly welcomed me to
the antipodes ; and, giving me his arm, and taking the
children, walked off with us, leaving papa to see the bag¬
gage put upon the cart he had thoughtfully secured for us.
As cabs were a luxury unknown to Melbourne at^that
time, and very few even of the wealthiest people kept car¬
riages, he apologized for making us walk, fearing little G.
would be tired. She, however, in spite of a late illness,
walked exceedingly well, delighted with her new acquaint¬
ance, to whom she prattled the whole way, so cheery at
again seeing “houfes, and horses, and lots of cows,” as she
called the teams of bullocks passing by her. We soon
reached “ Cleveland House,” and found it comfortable and
prettily situated in the midst of a garden, the flowers de¬
lighting our sight, after being so long with only the
monotonous ocean to look upon. In the afternoon, papa
called upon the Governor, who gave him favorable hopes of
receiving the appointment. The evening we spent wTith the
B.’s ; and talked about Canada — its cold, clear climate, and
its warm-hearted people — to our heart’s content. Next
morning, as soon as dressed, I ran off to the garden to enjoy
the flowers, wondering at the stillness around me, till re¬
minded that I was missing the singing of birds, a sad want
in Australia ; for though we afterwards saw many varieties
of gorgeous plumage, we never heard a singing bird there.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
49
In the course of the day, we parted with our young charges
from Canada — one getting a cadetship, and the other join¬
ing a party for Ballarat Diggings. Our intercourse had
been so pleasant with them, that we separated with regret.
They were both of good French families in Canada, and
Roman Catholics. One, a Mr. C., kept us constantly
amused by his funny ways. Having an aptitude for busi¬
ness, though he had been a medical student for a couple of
years at home, he had turned the money liis father gave him,
in New York, into American clocks, thinking they would sell
well in Australia. These were entered as cargo ; and the
difficulty was how to get at rhem in Rio. He managed to
open one box in the hold without the captain’s knowledge ;
and every time he went on board, by bribing the sailors, got
off two or three of his clocks. These, by selling to advan¬
tage in Rio, enabled him to pay his board, and we lent him
enough for his passage on. The other box was lost, as he
could not get at it. Another droll way he made money was,
by advertising himself as an “Oculist from Canada.” An
aunt, in a convent at home, had supplied him with several
bottles of some famous eye-water, the receipt of which had
been a family secret for years; and upon the strength of
this, he set up. Of course, he had many calls, and was sent
tor to attend some very high families in Rio. His advertise¬
ment stated, “That if there was no cure, there was to be no
pay,” and he honestly acted up to it. The eye- water, and
the diet prescribed with it, had, however, done so much
good, that when leaving Rio he had more demands than he
could attend to, even if his bottles had held out, and was
everywhere dubbed “ Doctor,” to our great amusement.
The third day after landing in Melbourne, I had the
pleasure of introducing papa as “His Worship,” duly sworn
50
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
in, to our friends, who were not a little surprised at his good
fortune, as they called it, in getting such an appointment so
soon. I cannot say I felt as grateful as they thought I
ought to be, as the station was on a newly discovered gold
field, which was in a state of disturbance, Some of the former
officials not having given satisfaction to the diggers, had
been chased off, and narrowly escaped with their lives ; and
it was 208 miles north of Melbourne, into the interior of
the country, over frightful roads, where I could not go,
as there were no houses built, and the officers had to live in
tents, and the rainy season just coming on. As a set-off to
this, the salary was to be, including rations, &c., about
£1200 sterling a-year, beginning at once, and a fortnight’s
leave allowed, to make preparations. Papa had also got for
my brother a berth as clerk to the Gold Commission in
Melbourne, wdth a salary of £100 sterling per annum, and
a promise of more, if he suited. This, for a young lad,
was pretty good, especially as the office was a very respect¬
able one, and the hours only from ten to twelve, and from
one to four. At the end of the fortnight we parted, my
feeling it the more from being left in a strange land, almost
among strangers, and having a very responsible charge.
We were soon enlivened by letters, and a journal kept for
my amusement, from which I found that papa had taken six
days to reach his destination, travelling in the fastest con¬
veyance, the escort cart, which carried up gold ; that he had
found the roads shocking, had had continued rain, and was
very thankful he had not brought me up with him, as he
was sure I could not have survived the journey. On reach¬
ing the gold fields, he found everything as miserable as it
could well be — a large staff of officers without any accom¬
modation or comfort, beyond a few tents. He thus describes
his first twenty-fours there : —
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
51
“ On arriving at the May-Day Hills, I found out Captain
P.’s tent, where I washed myself and changed my clothing.
I then remained shivering till Mr. Hood, an Assistant Gold
Commissioner, to whom I had a letter of introduction, came
and asked me to warm myself at his fire, before the mess
dinner. The fire was made in front of his tent, in a nail-
keg pierced with holes, as they have no stoves. I soon
warmed myself ; and we went to dinner, which we took in
the Police Court tent, dining in our great coats and hats.
After* dinner, I returned to the tent, where I remained
shivering, quite unable to obtain any warmth, it being so
excessively damp.” Next morning, 2nd of May, he con¬
tinues : “What a horrible night was the last one ; it blew
and rained as if the gates of the firmament were opened,
and it was withal a dark and cold night. I shivered even
in my bed ; but managed at last, by dint of piling on great
coats and everything within reach, to get a little heat into
my body, and slept till morning. Then; how dismal every¬
thing was. In order to warm myself, I took a cold bath,
and put on my flannels, which had the desired effect ; went
out in the rain to breakfast, which wa took in the same guise
as we had done our dinner. At ten attended Court; and
lunch was brought at one o’clock to my tent by my orderly.
At dinner, great coats were again in requisition ; but the
evening proving milder, I found that they were not always
a necessary part of our costume ; though you will not won¬
der at our wearing them, and still suffering from cold, when
I tell you that at Snake Valley, five miles from here, snow
fell to the depth of three inches.”
Of course, with such accounts as these, my going up to
the Ovens was out of the question, till a house could be
built for me, which papa was hurrying on as fast as he could.
52
110UGH AND SMOOTH.
I found the climate of Melbourne very disagreeable — rain,
incessant rain, and wind, so as often to shut us up in the
house for days, it being at the risk of one’s life to attempt
to cross some of the streets after a heavy shower, grown
persons frequently being swept off their feet, and children
known to be drowned. The lower part of Melbourne had
to be crossed, in some parts, by boats. The Argus paper
was constantly drawing attention to this state of things, an
article at times being headed, in large letters, with, “ An¬
other child drowned in the streets of Melbourne.” A lady
described to me one day a disagreeable position in which she
had been placed the foregoing week : 44 I was obliged,” she
said, 44 to visit a sick friend in the lower part of the town,
and reached the house safely enough, though in crossing
Elizabeth street the water reached above my ankles. I had
not been long in the house before the rain fell in torrents
again, without any abatement, for about two hours. I was
advised by my friei\d to remain all night, but could not leave
my young baby, and sallied forth as soon as it ceased a
little. I got along pretty well till I again reached Elizabeth
street, which is the cross street into which all the others,
inclining downwards, pour their accumulation of filth. There
I was stopped ; I saw the water would take me to my waist.
What was to be done ? Go on, I must, as it was getting
dark ; cross over, I could not, and not a cart or horse was
to be seen. At last, I entered a shop, and asked the people
if they thought it safe for me to venture across. They said,
4 Certainly, not alone.’ Two gentlemen, appearing to under¬
stand my dilemma, came forward, saying, they were going
across, and would be happy to assist me. I gladly accepted
their offer ; and each provided with a stout stick, we plunged
into the roaring torrent. I should never have been able to
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
53
keep my feet had I not had such able assistance, the force
down the street was so great. I reached home drenched
and exhausted; and my husband, who had just come from
his office, was not a little alarmed to find me out on such a
day.”
In such a place, my tendencies not being naturally
aquatic, I was necessarily much confined to the house, and
my health suffered accordingly. I was a martyr to neural¬
gia, influenza, and all the other ills of a damp, cold climate ;
and when I did get out, was obliged to wear as warm clothing
as I had ever done in Canada, as the sharp winds and damp
air penetrated my very bones. I often thought, with a
sigh, of all the accounts of the lovely climate of Australia,
where the sun ever shone, and the “ place was a Paradise,”
and thought if I were only in Canada again, those who liked
it were welcome to the possession of it for me ; and the
feeling only deepened the longer I remained in the country,
for when the rainy season was over, and the dry one began,
the cool damp was even preferable to the suffocatingly hot
winds and sirroccos to which we were subject every few days.
Nothing could keep out the dust-storms. They reminded
me, in their thickness, to a heavy snow-storm of home, sub¬
stituting hot pricking sand for cool snow. Gentlemen,
when they could venture out of doors, did so, with coat-
collars up, and a thick green veil tied over hat and all, and
came home, hair, whiskers, and face, looking as if they had
been showered upon with a huge red-sand box. Business,
however, was generally suspended till the sirrocco was over.
The beauty of these dust-storms was, they involved regular
house-cleaning after every one of them ; as if the dust were
allowed to remain upon carpets and curtains, it speedily
turned into fleas. How the people of Canvastown lived
8
54
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
through them, was often a marvel to me. Canvastown was
a collection of some hundreds of tents opposite Melbourne,
where people who could not afford to pay the enormous rents
of that city — lodged, shall I say? No — existed. Many
people of respectability in their own country were found
there ; and the exposure to wet and cold carried them off by
typhus fever in numbers. Melbourne itself was subject to
that complaint, as well as dysentery, which was common. To
give you an idea of the rents, the small cottage allowed Mr.
B., as the head of his department, cost Government £500
sterling per annum ; and I knew, in several cases, of two
or three rooms costing £200 a-year. As most of the land
near Melbourne was owned by Government, and locked up —
that is to say, they would sell none of it — the city was ill
supplied with vegetables and dairy productions — milk, but¬
ter, &c., absurdly dear. Indeed, most of the latter articles
were imported. Our idea had been to buy land, and settle
upon it ; but when your father heard it was impossible to
obtain it, he was glad to get something else to do.
While in Melbourne, I was invited to a ball given by the
Governor, on the Queen’s birth-day; and the cost of ball¬
going may be imagined, when I tell you that the carriage
hired by my friends, with the owner’s stipulation that they
should leave at a certain hour, cost seven guineas. The ball
itself cost His Excellency what would have given four or
five in any other part of the world, and he did not make
the country pay for it either, as is sometimes done in colo¬
nies much further north. I think, as a wind up to this
chapter, I cannot do better than give you a few extracts
from a letter from Western Australia from the friend who
had gone there, before spoken of, as I am sure they will
interest you : —
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
55
“ Perth, W. A., July 20th.
u My Dear C. : — Your note of 23rd April has just reached
me, and greatly relieved my mina of much anxiety on your
account, as well as Mrs. C. and your family. I was greatly
disappointed in not meeting with you at Melbourne; the
more so, as I could not, by any means, ascertain whether
you were in the colony, and, until the receipt of your note,
have been quite ignorant of your movements.
“ We should have sailed together in the Shirley , the finest
and most commodious vessel it has ever been my good for¬
tune to travel in. On my return to Canada from Boston,
you had taken your departure, and my brother suggested
my writing to you, and recommending the Shirley . I did
so, but afterwards withdrew the letter on recollecting that
she had not the usual accommodation for ladies. On join¬
ing the ship, I then regretted not sending the letter ; for
we were but three cabin passengers, occupying the room of
sixteen, and two (including my servant) steerage, with plenty
of room for four or five families. The skipper was a brick,
and a first-rate sailor, exerting himself to amuse his passen¬
gers, without neglecting the interests of his owners. Alto¬
gether, we had, though rather a long one, a jolly and any¬
thing but a tedious voyage.
“ I offer my hearty congratulations on your appointment
to an office of, I should imagine, considerable importance,
and of by no means indifferent emoluments. How you, a
perfect stranger, have managed to drop in for such good
luck, puzzles me. You have not explained. I must, there¬
fore, only conclude that your professional talents have
obtained it for you. I wish you joy of your good fortune,
and sincerely hope for its continuance. I was most happy
to hear that you had made the acquaintance of my esteemed
56
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
friends, the B.s, and that they had been of service to you
and Mrs. C. on your arrival, as strangers, in a new colony.
I am truly glad that you have found them such sincere
friends.
“ Coming from Melbourne to Swan River verifies the old
saying of jumping from ‘the frying-pan into the fire.’ Such
would be the case with a settler ; but with me, when my
transportation is limited to a certain period, I regard my
sojourn in this strange country as a casualty incidental to
the service to which I, ‘for better, for worse,’ am wedded;
and having accordingly made up my mind to be ‘jolly
under the circumstances,’ endeavour to delude myself into
an idea of contentment, which feeling — regret for Canada —
sometimes renders it difficult to realize. I am, however,
a bit of a philosopher, and easily satisfied. This is a wild
bush country, with about six thousand inhabitants living on
their scanty means, the produce of a barren, sandy soil —
and which but for the introduction, within the last three
years, of convicts, and the consequent Imperial expenditure,
must have gradually dwindled into insignificance, and very
probably returned to its original savage state. The convict
system has saved the colony, and will, I have no doubt, raise
it to an important position. Prices of everything are most
exorbitant, even higher than in the sister provinces, and
without any prospect of a decline. There is very little
export trade. The arrivals from England generally seek
freights at other ports. No opening for young men in search
of employment, except situations under the convict estab¬
lishment, which are indifferently salaried and not the most
reputable. There is, however, one redeeming character in
the society, which, considering the locale , is respectable, and
better than might be expected.” * * * * *
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
57
• CHAPTER VII.
Start for the Diggings — Difficulties— Inn-Keeper — Crossing Rivers.
QIX weeks in Melbourne had given me time to try how I
^ could get along with papa away. Keep house there, I
could not ; remain as I was, I was not willing to do for the
winter, and the only plap. seemed for us to live at the Ovens
together. On proposing this, obstacles presented them¬
selves on all sides — the impassable roads; the want of the
common comforts of life up there ; my feeble health ; the
difficulty in getting an exchange for my brother to the Ovens,
as he must not be left alone in a large city ; and lastly, the
leave from head quarters for papa to come and fetch us,
which favor he would not ask so soon. But women, you
know, are not easily deterred by trifles, when they set their
hearts upon a thing ; and having braved the stormy ocean
that we might keep together, I was not to be frightened by
roughing it on land, and set to work in right earnest to
smooth over some of these difficulties, thinking that finer
weather and better spirits would give me strength for it all.
Knowing the kindness of the Chief Commissioner in Mel¬
bourne, Mr. Mitchell, I wrote to him, (without letting papa
know,) asking for leave of absence — rather an informal
proceeding. Instead of writing me a stiff reply, he kindly
sent a mutual friend to say I had the required permission ;
but before using it, he wished me to be remonstrated with
upon my Quixotic notion of attempting to live up there, as
no lady could do it, even if she could stand the journey.
58
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
Great was the astonishment of my friends when it got abroad
that I was going to the Ovens. Strangers even called, to
explain to me I could not know what Australian bush life in
winter meant. I was frequently asked if I justified suicide ?
One gentleman politely told me I was mad, as he could not
possibly believe either Mr. 0. or myself were sane, to think
of attempting a journey over such roads, and live in such a
place — no delicate woman cbuld stand it. I told him my
powers of endurance were greater than he gave me credit
for, and that as I had made up my mind to go , his kind
efforts to dissuade me would be “ love’s labor lost.” Upon
this, he vouchsafed to tell me, “I was very plucky;” and
he only hoped I w^ould be able to hold out so when brought
into contact with discomforts and miseries. One day, so
harrassed was I at all the Job’s comforters my friends had
been to me, that two officers, who called late in the day, got
the benefit of a flood of tears for their trouble. I was
heartily ashamed of such weakness and seeming ingratitude,
but could not have helped it, if all Australia had been at
stake. The application for the exchange of my brother to
the Ovens was granted, and the promised addition to his
salary of allowances, rations, &c., given without its being
expected so soon. The heaviest trouble was leaving my
sister behind. We felt we were not justified in taking
her up, and so placed her in an excellent private board¬
ing school, just opposite the B.s’ cottage, who promised to
take care of her, and have her to spend Saturdays with
them. A beautiful dolly, the best Melbourne could afford,
with wax arms and legs, and such a pretty face, somewhat
consoled her for the parting.
The ffriday of the week papa arrived we began our jour¬
ney; and there is an old saying, “ Friday begun is never
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
59
well done,” and you will laugh and think the old saw was
verified in our case as you read on. We started in a spring
cart, with a pair of horses, one in the shafts and the other
outside,, in what they call an outrigger, an abominable conr
trivance, and one peculiarly Australian. Besides being
delightfully adapted for bringing the wheel on the heels of
the off" horse, and causing him to kick, (an accomplishment
the Australian horses excel in,) it gives you a most unequal
power over the animals, so that you drive along in continual
dread of one of them taking it into his head to make off,
and inducing the other to do the same. G. sat on my
knee, papa drove, and my brother followed on horseback.
For a while we got along very well, though the roads were,
beyond description, bad, till one of the horses, beginning to
show symptoms of laziness, threatening to lie down in every
mud-hole — finally did so, about nine miles from Melbourne,
when he came to a hole sufficiently large and deep to almost
cngulph the whole of us. Persuasion and force were alter¬
nately tried, without effect. The animal seemed to have more
affinity to the donkey than the horse, and was stubborn as a
mule. Not a bit would he stir ; and papa declared he had never
been so “taken in” by an animal before. He certainly
had some ground for the complaint, as in getting out of the
cart, he was “taken in” up to the waist in the soft mud. In
despair, he still held on, and, with great exertion, dragged
himself out of his treacherous position, leaving his boots
behind him. Happening to have a pair of India-rubber
trowsers over his others, he stood upon the cart, and man¬
aged to get them off and throw them away; then venturing
a bold spring, landed on “terra firma.” I was the next
trouble. How was I to be got down, with mud all around
us ? My brother walked his horse over every place, to try
60
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
the ground ; and papa again venturing upon the nearest and
firmest, bade me jump into his arms; and it so happened,
that my weight falling against his left arm, which had been
Ijadly sprained two weeks before by a fall from a back-
jumping horse, and which, at the moment, we both forgot,
caused it to give way, and down we both went, measuring
our lengths in the mud. With some laughter, we scrajied
ourselves, and began to look for assistance, and get out our
cart and horses. A bullock team making its appearance,
the men kindly came at once to help us. They had a great
deal of trouble in getting our obstinate horse out of his soft
bed, and were almost in despair, after giving him a severe
cut with the bullock-whip, to find that his one effort to rise
had ended in his pulling the other horse over him, and
breaking the iron of the outrigger. At last, with great
perseverance, they were got out ; and by yoking a pair of
bullocks to the axle-tree of the cart, drew it backwards out
of the hole.
We had then the comfort to find ourselves wet, mud¬
dy, and cold — one horse nearly dead, our cart broken,
and were told we had missed the road. Happily, we were
not far from a blacksmith’s forge, where we took refuge
till the cart could be repaired, sending my brother back to
Melbourne to prepare our friends for our return that night
It was 4 p. M. before we got ready to start — stiff with the
mud, which had dried on us, and having had nothing to eat
since morning. We reached Melbourne late at night, and
I was laid up in bed all the next day. Thus ended our first
attempt to reach the “ diggings ; ” and our friends were some¬
what delighted at our disasters, quite sure that I had had
enough of it, and would not try again ; but having made
our arrangements and sent off most of our baggage, we did
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
61
not like to give up, and determined to make one more at¬
tempt, and in the beginning of the week start again.
Anxious that nothing should be left undone that would
help to smooth our way, a fresh horse was procured to re¬
place the lazy one, and a mounted trooper granted us by
Government, to be exchanged at each police station on the
road, as guide and assistant. Although it rained heavily
the morning of our start, papa did not think it right to delay
any longer in Melbourne, as the roads were daily getting
worse, with no prospect of their improvement for months ;
and the rivers were becoming so swollen, that if we did not
hasten, we would be stopped on the road, and perhaps have
to turn back after all. After driving about an hour and a
half, the rain ceased, and we found it more pleasant. Our
trooper was very useful, as he knew every inch of the road,
and would take us off into the woods, to avoid the bad spots,
a thing we would not have ventured to do alone. Finding
G. heavy on my knee, we made a comfortable seat for her
in the bottom of the cart, which was the means of saving
her life, as shortly after, to avoid a hole, papa went round
a tree ; and not seeing a stout low bow projecting from it,
I was struck down by it, bruizing my side severely. Had
G. been on my knee, we might both have been killed. I
screamed out loudly, thinking all my ribs were broken ; and
the trooper, who was riding in front, told us he had seen
two men knocked off their horses by that branch before, and
that he had gone through the mud-hole on purpose to avoid
it. As the branch was short, it had only hit me; and having
but a mile to go, we drove fast, and in a little time reached
the stopping-place.
For the next hour we thought there was a fatality against our
ever reaching the Ovens. However, after a good night’s rest,
9
62
ROUGH AND SMOOTH,
which quite satisfied me that my ribs were not all broken, I
dressed in good spirits to go on again. As it rained heavily,
we determined to go only twelve miles that day. We had
a very large and dangerous swamp to cross, and would have
been stuck in it, as we saw many other abandoned carts and
drays were, had it not been for our trooper, who had his
marks and beacons here and there, which he had observed in
guiding the escort, and so brought us, by a circuitous route,
safely through it, and, in a few moments after, to the com¬
fortable hotel, where a blazing fire and a hot dinner, the host
said, “would comfort both the outer and inner man.” The
cost of these comforts, however, was not trifling ; and you
can judge of our bills, when we never paid less than XI
sterling for each horse the night. Papa had a conversation
with the inn-keeper, who told him he intended selling his
place and going to Van Dieman’s Land. On his wishing
him success, he said “ Oh ! bless you, sir, I am independent;
I cares not for success; I goes there to enjoy one’s-self wTith
mates, I know.” On asking the amount of his wealth, he
was told he expected, and would get, X12,000 or X14,000
for his property, which might be bought in Canada for X400 j
that he had X10,000 worth of cattle, and plenty of money
in the bank. He said his was the best trade going. As far
as this world was concerned, probably it was ; but I sadly
fear the investment would not be found a profitable one in
the world to come.
The next day at noon we reached Kilmore, a dirty little
town. As it was a police station, we had to change our
trooper, which we regretted, as we liked him much. On
leaving Kilmore, after an hour’s stay to dine, we stuck in a
mud-hole in the street : but after a little delay in unharness¬
ing were pulled out, and able to go on — nothing broken, and
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
63
ourselves with only another coating of the black mud, which
was already laid on pretty thickly. As there were no bridges,
we had to drive through all the creeks; and that night we
reached a place called Ferguson’s, very tired, as we had
made a long journey, and been tolerably jolted ; hut my side
was better, and we felt very thankful at having accomplished
so much so easily, and did not fear the rest of it. True, we
had several more rivers to cross, but only one of them gave
us any uneasiness, and that we should go over the following
morning, it being nine miles from Ferguson’s. They told
us it was already too high ; but we thought best to judge for
ourselves, as there was no hope of its getting lower. We
had crossed so many already, in the primitive style of half
swimming, half wading, that I was rather tired of the fun, and
did not feel very amiable, on reaching this, to find it a deep,
wide, rapid river, with pretty steep banks. “ Why do not
the Government make bridges?” I exclaimed. “They
certainly spend nothing on roads, and they must draw an
enormous revenue from the diggings, to say nothing of the
high price at which they sell their bits of town lots in Mel¬
bourne.” This last was was spoken feelingly, having tried
a little private speculation on my own account ^in iron
houses, and been obliged to relinquish it for that reason.
The attempt to soothe me by saying, “ This is a new coun¬
try, and things cannot be done all at once, you know,” only
provoked a naughty reply of “ Tut, tut, instead of dressing
up so many officers in gold lace, as I have seen strutting
about Melbourne, they might make safe bridges for people to
go over, and that on the great high road through the country,
too.”
“Well, barring the roads,” was the laughing rejoinder,
“we have no cause to grumble at Government, or its gold
64
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
lace either, I think, have we?” This home thrust silenced
me a minute; but I got out of the difficulty by saying, “Well,
get me safely across here, and I’ll praise the bridge that
carries me over, you’ll see.”
“ In we go,” shouted the trooper ; ain we go,” was the echo,
and we almost lost sight of the horses, as they swam over to try
it, landing with legs many shades darker and heavier than when
they went in. The question then was, what would be done
with me? which was becoming such a common one, that I was
often tempted to think, “ I was more trouble than I was
worth” — in the backwoods of this colony, at any rate; and
the people on the road seemed to participate in the idea, for
I was gazed on, sometimes as a strange animal, and at others,
notwithstanding my claim to toughness, as a brittle bit of
porcelain to be labelled “glass, with care.” But I am still
on the wrong side of the river. Will I cross on horseback,
the trooper carrying G., or will the three of us get on the
top of our seat in the cart, an elevated, though shakey
position, as the wheels were very high, attempt it in that
way? This last plan was deemed the better one, my “guid
man” thinking the danger of the sunken logs upsetting tlie
cart not so great as slippery me sliding from the horse’s
back, without a side-saddle. In, therefore, we drove, going-
down stream part of the way, the river being only fordable
so, the trooper swimming his horse in front of us as guide,
and his companion close by, to be ready for an upset — a few
moments of short breathing and hasty prayer, and we were
anded. Then Mr. Trooper tells us how anxious he had been
about us, as a foot further in one spot would have tilted us
into a deep hole. Well for them I did not know that before,
else they would have found it harder work to get me over
than they did. “ Where ignorance is bliss ’tis folly to be
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
65
wise.” In the new and unsettled country parts of Canada
I had never crossed a river in that style ; hut we live and
learn, and I had to practice the lesson sooner than I cared
for.
The fourth and fifth days of our journey passed without
any change upon the up-hill, down-dale, and mud, mud, mud,
of before. We passed enough broken drays and abandoned
carts to supply a good sized town with both articles. The
scenery of the country was*often pleasing — sometimes park¬
like ; at others, reminding me of the pictures one sees of
parts of Palestine. We often suffered for wrant of water,
as it was swampy, dark-colored, and salty. We saw lots
of beautiful birds — the bronzed wing pigeon, parroquets,
laughing jackass, and a swallow called “razor-grinder,” from
the ugly noise he makes ; and though they all made noise
enough, they never gave us a song, like their less gaudy
brethren of other countries. The wild flowrers -were small,
and had to be hunted for, but repaid the search, by their
beauty and sweetness. I had read that flowers were without
perfume in Australia, and found this to be a mistake, as I
often had as many as twenty varieties on my table at once,
all scented, and a flowTering shrub and tree, called wattle, in
spring filled the air with its fragrance.
The morning of our sixth day, one of the horses kicking,
broke the outrigger, and we were delayed for some time, at
a dirty little village called Euroa, till it was repaired. From
there we came to Broken River, and then left the plain
and began to ascend the hills and mountains. From the top
of one of these, wre had a fine view of the plain belowq and,
in the distance, the Australian Alps, rising one above an¬
other, and giving us the grandest picture we had had yet —
almost repaying us for our toil and fatigue. We fancied we
66
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
were breathing more freely, partly from mountain air, partly
from knowing we were getting near our journey’s end, and
leaving our difficulties behind us. How “ little we know what
a day may bring forth.” Well for us it is so ; else the
shadows of the future would cloud over all the enjoy¬
ment of the present. “ Sufficient for the day is the evil
thereof.” Looking ‘back from my present stand-point, I
would urge you, my children, to be always ready — having
your loins girded, and your lamps burning, and ye yourselves
like unto men that wait for their Lord.
.ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
67
CHAPTER VIII.
An Upset— A Walk — A Repulse — Civility of Squatters — First View of
Gold Field.
N our road we passed many people going to and return-
^ ing from the diggings, and never failed to notice the
difference between them. The former were well loaded with
blankets, clothing, and provisions, and trudged cheerfully on,
no doubt with bright visions of success, and pictures of re¬
turning to their native land to enrich some loved ones. Very
different was the appearance of the generality of those com¬
ing down ; in their long, gaunt, half-starved faces, you could
trace sickness, and the lines of disappointment, and hope
deferred. One, however, who had evidently met with better
fortune, rode up to the hotel where we were dining, and called
loudly for the ostler. “ What do you want with him ?” in¬
quired the host. “Why, to take my horse and give him a feed,”
was the reply. “ Pray, friend, do you know the price of a
feed now? ’’ “ I don’t care what the price is ; I can pay for
it.” Upon which the landlord civilly told him, “ The ostler
was not in, but the stable was close at hand.” When he was
gone, he turned, and, with a knowing wink, said to papa and
Mr. Foster, the Governor’s nephew, who were standing by,
“ Successful gold digger, sirs ; feed for horse is six shillings.
Excuse me — likely to be a good customer — must tend him
myself,” and off he started to do so.
We rested a Sunday on the road, starting from the Honey¬
suckle in high spirits bright and early our seventh journey¬
ing day. Captain Cook, a police officer, and three of his
68
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
men, had joined our party, they riding first, my brother and
our trooper next, and our cart, with Captain Cook trotting
by our side, bringing up the rear. Little did we think, as
we laughed and chatted on, how near we were to the brink
of eternity — how soon the waters of death would be pre¬
sented to our lips, hut before quaffing the full draught, to bo
dashed aside by an Almighty hand, and ourselves allowed
to breast, for a while yet, the waters of life — one space
more given us to prepare.
On reaching the side of a river with unusually steep
hanks, one of our horses slipped in landing, and his
feet striking the other one, over w'ent horses, over went
cart and contents into a deep-water hole. What next
passed I did not know. I felt myself drowning, and
groping about, caught hold of the dash-board of the cart,
and raised myself up. I was between the horses, and they
were plunging violently. I was soon reached, and held
above water, till Captain Cook and tho trooper got me out of
my perilous position, and dragged me ashore, which, from
the weight of the wraps I had on, and the steepness of the
hank, gave them no easy work. I had begged them to save
G., and, on diving, somebody found her lying on her back,
with outstretched arms. Papa next appeared, his head and
face covered with blood. He had been thrown forward, and
falling under the horses, had been severely bruised and kicked
by them. Most providentially, the wounds bled, or he would
have been stunned and drowned. He had great difficulty in
getting free from them; but by placing his feet against the
body of the nearest one, and pushing himself back, got
away, and struck out for the bank.
All our care wTas needed for poor little G., as be¬
ing the weakest of us. She had turned perfectly blue,
BOUGH AND SMOOTH.
69
and the poor little mouth was rigid and stiff. I forced
the only drop of port wine left in the broken flask down
her throat, and, with Captain Cook’s assistance, stripped
her naked, and wrapping her in a blanket and opposum
skin, one of the men had strapped in front of his saddle,
she speedily recovered.
We were then three-and-a-half miles from a house to
turn back, and five to proceed- Our cart and baggage
was still under water ; for all that could be done was
to cut the traces of the almost expiring horses, and let
them save themselves. The cart could not be moved
till assistance, with ropes, &e., was obtained. This one
of the men galloped off for. It was thought best that
we should walk on the five miles to a wealthy squatter’s
house, and save crossing the creek again, where, after being
dried and warmed, we could await our cart and horses, which
Captain Cook and my brother were to bring on, he keeping
his two men, and we taking our trooper, mounted, as guide,
and to carry Gr. Thinking that the walking would probably
save ojir lives, as we had no means of changing our wet clothes,
and with many injunctions to those left behind to hurry and
catch up to us as soon as they could, and prevent our walk¬
ing The whole of the way, we started, McKay walking his
horse to keep up with our pace, and we have him in sight.
There being no regular roads or fences, people making them
for themselves here and there through the bush, which was
like a vast apple orchard, with cattle, branded with the
owner’s name, grazing all over it. As they have miles to
wander, a couple of men are always kept, called stockmen,
who are said to live in their saddles, riding about all day, to
see that they are not lost, driving them before them with a
long whip with a short handle, which gives a peculiar crack-
10
70
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
ing sound, heard at great distances, and well known to the
cattle.
At last, weary and cold, the rain pouring in torrents
all the time, and ourselves ankle deep in mud, we reached
the squatter’s station — to us the beacon of hope. We had
some trouble in getting to the door of the house, as we were
assailed by a very wicked dog, but, by the use of sticks and
stones, at last drove him off, and knocked. A respectably-
dressed woman came to the door, and glancing at us, stepped
out, and shutting it behind her, asked what we wanted.
Papa apologized for our intrusion, and stating our deplora¬
ble case, asked for shelter, telling her who he was, which
the small regulation cap all gold commissioners were obliged
to wear confirmed, which is generally respected in those
parts, as were it not for the arm of authority, the squatters,
who are immense land and cattle owners, would not lead the
comparatively unmolested lives they do, near districts with
a population thrown together from all parts of the world.
Looking at us most incredulously, and telling us to follow
her across the yard, she opened the door of a stockman’s
hut, and told us to go in, calling a man-servant near to make
up a fire. Sadly disappointed, papa tried to awaken her
womanly sympathies, by setting poor G. on the floor, and
telling her she was naked, and that I had had to walk the
whole of the five miles, wet through, and felt very ill ; to
which she replied a cool “ Indeed!” Seeing that matters
could be minced no longer, with one who was either devoid of
understanding or humanity, he plainly asked her to supply
me with a suit of dry clothes, and to lend something for
G., all of which would be sent back with much gratitude*
and without any risk from Bannalla. With eyes widely dis¬
tended and looks amazed was this request received, and, in
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
71
reply, she turned, and taking a dirty old great coat of her
man-servant’s off the wall, handed it to him, saying, “ You
can wrap the youngster up in this;” and then addressing
herself to me said, “ You can take off your things here
and hang them up before the fire, and they will be dry soon
enough for you.” It was my turn now to look amazed —
the undressing in a hut, between each slab, which formed
the sides, you could put your clenched hand, was arriving at
colonial experience with rather too sudden a jump for me,
and almost took away my breath at the bare thought. I
could not thank her, and the good lady walked off, shutting
the door behind her, leaving us to moralize, if we felt inclined,
upon the vanity of all earthly hopes. We looked at each other
in silence ; and I staggered to an old broken box to sit upon,
there not being a seat in the hut. McKay, however, broke
forth into a “ Well, if ever I saw such a wretch ; she de¬
serves a choking,” and he looked as if he would have gladly
given it to her had he dared. The servant coming in, papa
questioned him as to who the fair dame was who had so effec¬
tually gi^en us the cold shoulder, and was told, “She was
the mistress of the house, Mrs. Webster; that her husband
was not at home, and that we need not expect any extraordi¬
nary hospitality from her, as it was not in her. ’ ’ He then said,
“She has no children, I perceive.” “No,” said the man,
“never had any; but how did you know that, sir?” “Oh!”
was the reply, “ the little child has been trying to make
friends with that cat, and has been cruelly repulsed and
scratched, which shows she has no more love for them than
her mistress has.”
Miss Gr., glad of sympathy, held up the bare arm with a
pitiful face, saying, “Naughty pussy,” and did not attempt
to renew the acquaintance.
72
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
After waiting half an hour without any return of good Mrs.
Webster, my shivering became so great from the effect of the
outward warmth, while all my inner clothing was so wet, that
papa and McKay thought something must be done, and that it
would be best to proceed towards Sannalla, not waiting for
our cart. He, therefore, sent in her servant to ask for the
loan of her horse and cart to take us on, which would be
returned next day. This was refused, the excuse being,
“ Her husband was not at home.” The only thing that then
remained was to walk on, and trust to our friends overtak¬
ing us, as I must be kept moving. I remonstrated, declar¬
ing myself unable to stir another step, but was told it was
better to trust to God, than to such an inhuman creature
as Mrs. Webster, and, putting G. into McKay’s arms again,
and, leading me, we started. On passing the dwelling-
house we saw a blazing fire, and the lady herself sitting at
luncheon. Papa felt inclined to go in, and upbraid her for
her want of charity, as she had not offered us a mouthful of
anything ; but I begged him not to, reminding him that a
man’s house was his castle, and we had no right to storm it
against the owner’s will.
On we trudged, my eyes filled with tears of disappoint¬
ment and pain — his, with those of rage at the unchristian
treatment we had received.
We had now twelve miles to go before we could reach
Bannalla, and there were no houses between it and Web¬
ster’s Station ; indeed, had there been any, it is doubtful
whether we would have risked a second repulse. Poor G.’s
plaintive cry of, “ I so hungry — I want someting a eat,
mama,” had to be hushed by, “Mama has nothing for
you, my darling;” and the patient little creature w*ould
wait a long time before asking again, having had nothing to
eat since her early breakfast.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
73
It was drawing towards evening, and we were still on the
road, worn out with cold, wet, and fatigue. Again and
again, did I beg to be allowed to sit on the wet ground, and
remain there. This papa would not hear of. The only seat
he would let me take, was to make McKay dismount, and,
holding the child in his arms, put me on the quiet horse’s
back to rest for a few moments ; I would then be able to
walk on for seme time. Had we had any matches, we might
have lighted a fire, and rested and warmed ourselves ;^but
we had none, and the only resource was to trudge on ; and
so lonesome was the road, that the only horseman we met
the whole day, was Mr. Webster returning to his station.
Towards evening, we heard the joyful sound of horses’
feet behind us, and making sure it was the long looked for
cart, stopped to await it. We were, however, destined to be
disappointed ; it was only the postman and a pack-horse.
When he came up to us, he stopped to tell us he had heard
of our accident, was very sorry for us, and wished to know
if he could be of any use. Papa told him to ride on to
Bannalla as fast as he could, and go to Mr. Barkly, the
Lieutenant of Police, desiring him to have a horse harnessed
and sent off to meet us as soon as possible. Saying he
would do so, he galloped off. Hope again kept us up for
a-while ; but it was hard to strive against exhausted nature,
and we had just made up our minds to force McKay to com¬
ply with a plan he had refused to accede to before, on
account of the danger to us, of meeting blacks, or bush¬
rangers — which was, to leave us, and ride on to the hotel at
Bannalla, giving G . into safe hands, and returning again —
when we heard the sound of wheels, and, in a moment after,
saw a cart approaching, driven by a young cadet, and sent
by Mr. Barkley. It is needless to say how the cart was
74
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
received. McKay at once made off with G., and taking
our seats in the welcome vehicle, we followed at a slower
pace.
Upon questioning Mr. Bluett as to our distance from Ban-
nalla, we found that we were only two miles, and had actually
walked fifteen miles in the pouring rain and deep mud. It
is true, it had taken us nearly the whole day to do it, for
when we drove up to the “ Black Swan” darkness had set
in.^ Papa was obliged to lift me out of the cart and carry
me into the house; for the short time I had been sitting had
caused such a swelling of my feet and ankles, that I could
not stand. He also made the discovery that he was lame,
and upon examination found that he had been kicked in
the thigh, anxiety for us having prevented his feeling it
before.
Here we found Miss G. strutting about in little boys’
clothes, quite happy, eating bread and jam. Kind Mrs.
McLaren, the mistress of the house, took me into her own
hands, and, with some assistance, tearing off my garments,
which had become a part of myself, dried, and rubbed me
well : then dressing me in a suit of her own, lifted me (for
I was perfectly helpless) upon the sitting-room sofa, looking
delighted at the metamorphose she had effected; and, truly,
she might, for when first sat in front of the dressing-table,
and given a glimpse of myself, I could not resist a roar of
laughter, and immediately exonerated Mrs. Webster from
the charge of ill-treating a person of respectability, for not
tbe slightest resemblance did I bear to one — black beaver
bonnet, all smashed and covered with mud ; face in perfect
keeping ; shawl and cloak tattered and bespattered ; the
remnants of a dress which had been black in the morning,
now an undefinable color, and at every movement letting
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
75
fall lumps of soft mud, completed the costume ; and really,
a more miserable looking wretch never was picked up in a
gutter.
Though at so late an hour, our hostess soon had a good
hot dinner ready for us ; and while partaking of it, we felt
thankful that comfort and kindness could be purchased for
money — not but that I am sure, had we needed it, Mrs.
McLaren would have given it as charity, with a warm heart ;
and I am willing to hope, that there are few of the softer
sex who would have been as hard as Mrs. Webster wras. We
heard here, that though very rich, she bore a miserly char¬
acter, and completely ruled her husband ; and our story
spreading through the country, and even reaching the local
paper, did not do away with the general impression.
About an hour after our arrival, our delinquents made
their appearance. They had had great difficulty in getting
the cart out of the hole, into which it had settled, even
with the assistance they had obtained. On reaching Mrs.
Webster’s station, they were much frightened to find us
gone, and could get no satisfaction from that lady, she not
deigning to reply to half their questions. As they were
leaving, they met the man, who enlightened them as to our
disappearance, making them rather warm with anger and
alarm ; as every one of the party had been all day in wet
clothes. Mr. Barkley insisted upon supplying them from
the police barracks, and very thankfully was the supply
received.
Next day found us all too much “done up” to think of go¬
ing on; and one of our horses had to be put in the hands of
a veterinary surgeon, with a flesh wound in his shoulder.
The following morning, my brother, being quite well, was
gent on with Captain Cook’s men, to report himself at head-
76
KOUGH AND SMOOTH.
quarters, and we remained one more day to recover. That
evening the up escort of gold arrived; and our shaft-horse
being pronounced unfit to go on, the officer in charge offered
G. and myself a seat in the gold-cart, driven by himself, if
papa could manage to get a saddle-horse and a man to bring
our cart and other horse and baggage slowly on. This was
effected, and next morning we started, after spending two or
three nights most comfortably at Bannalla.
I may as well tell you here what the gold escort was:
You know the diggers were finding a great deal of gold,
in its rough state, which would have been unsafe for them to
keep in their tents, besides needing it to be turned into coin
for use. One of the duties of the Gold Commission, there¬
fore, was to weigh it as it was brought to them, and either
change it into coin, or give a receipt for it, and send it,
stamped, to the Government Bank in Melbourne. Every
week, therefore, a cart with gold was sent down, and the
same, with coin, up. To guard this treasure, they never had
less than eight mounted troopers, armed with holster pistols
and short guns. They ride splendid horses, and wear a
uniform of blue and silver. Notwithstanding all precau¬
tions, the escort is at times attacked by bands of desperate
characters, bushrangers, &c. While I was at the Ovens,
one was robbed, or “ stuck up,’’ as they call it — the troopers
shot at from behind a temporary barricade in a lonely place,
some killed, the rest left wounded, and the gold carried off
on their horses. Months passed before the perpetrators
were found. At last, some of them were taken on board
ship, ready to sail for England — tried, and executed.
In such a cart-full of treasure, Mama and G. take their
seats. I am sure papa thought with the mother of the
Gracci, we were the most valuable part of it all.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
77
We reached Wangaratta, a distance of thirty miles, that
night most comfortably, though it continued pouring as be¬
fore ; indeed, had it not been for his careful thought in
providing large India-rubber rugs and water-proof things of
every kind, we would never have been one moment dry.
.Next morning we started on our last stage, thankful that
it was indeed our last, as our little child had looked any¬
thing but well since her dip in the creek. At noon, we
stopped at a Dr. McKay’s Station, where the escort were in
the habit of resting their horses and giving them water.
Papa lifted us out of the cart, telling us it would do us
good to stretch our limbs by walking a little. Miss G., at¬
tracted by the sight of children standing in the doorway of
the house, drew me to the garden gate to look at them, while
they seeming equally pleased with her, looked, and smiled
in return, till their mother, coming behind them, drew them
in, and shut the door almost in our faces, as the gate was
close to it. Of course, I took the hint ; and getting back
in the cart, out of which the horses had been taken, refused
to walk any more. I began to fancy that there must either
be something very repulsive about my appearance, to induce
people to be so rude, or that squatters, from living so much
alone, were a most uncivilized and inhospitable set; and,
finally, to satisfy my own vanity, I came to the conclusion
that the latter must be the case. Presently, one of the
servants came out of an out-kitchen, and asked me to go in
there for shelter. I thanked her, but declined, saying,
“ I did not mind the rain.” Papa and Mr. Diegan tried to
persuade me to go; but I rather crossly told them, “ I did
not want a second edition of kitchen hospitality, and would
not accept, at the hands of a servant, the politeness refused
me by the mistress.” As I suppose the gentlemen thought
11
78
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
that a “ wilful woman must have her way,” they left me to
do as I pleased, telling me, “ I was very naughty, and de¬
served a good wetting.”
From this station, papa took Mr. Diegan’s place as driver;
and from here to the Ovens the roads were infamous, and
the cart and worn-out horses were bogged several times.
We walked most of the way, papa driving on foot — and
putting G. on horseback before a trooper, a mode of convey¬
ance highly approved of by that young lady, who would
begin an acquaintance at once by saying, “ My name’s G.
What’s your name?” “ I from Quebec. Where you come
from?” “I got mama and papa, and dear little aunty.
Have you got any?” — to all which, and many other ques¬
tions, she received most willingly-given replies, and by the
time we reached the diggings, had become fast friends with
the whole troop, remembering each one by name, and all
were ambitious of carrying the little chatterbox whenever
she wanted a ride.
It was about dusk, eleven days after our start from Mel¬
bourne, that we reached the gold-field; and upon leaving
the bush, and coming down upon it, what a sight presented
itself to my wondering gaze. I cannot describe it. One
must see gold-digging to understand it. Heaps and heaps
of newly upturned earth; deep holes, out of which sickly
looking men were drawing buckets more of it; while others,
up to their waists in water, were washing pans of the sun-
dried clay, and so close were the holes to each other, that
there was hardjy room for our cart to pass between them,
obliging us to make a constantly zig-zag track. How
plainly it all seemed to speak of the grovelling nature of
man. What, thought I to myself, can man stoop so low as to
burrow in the earth in this way — to risk health, and stand,
/
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
79
in the depth of winter, up to the waist in water, for such
fleeting gains ? And an inner voice sadly answered, “Yes,
man will do anything to lay up treasure where moth and
rust corrupt, and thieves break through and steal.”
80
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
CHAPTER IX.
Household Arrangements — Beeehwortk — Work and Play.
T)APA had prepared me to expect a small wooden house,
the only one at the Ovens, for my dwelling, with¬
out the least shadow of comfort or prettiness about it ; and
I was agreeably surprised, upon driving up, to find a pretty
little garden, tastefully laid out in front, and two nice large
carpet-lined tents, with tarpaulin awnings on either side of
the house. My brother and our man-servant were ready to
receive me. Honest Barnes was delighted to have his
master back again, and, for his sake, had striven hard to
make everything look as comfortable as he could for me.
He had dug up and laid out the garden during his absence,
and had brought all the pretty shrubs and wild bushes he
could find in the woods to fill it ; so that it wns literally a
garden of wild plants, all new to me. He had gravelled
the front of the doorway, plastered the inside of the chim¬
ney and whitewashed it, in which there was a cheerful fire
blazing, and had built a bark hut and fire-place for himself
to cook in, so that I might not be troubled with the dirty
work in my little domain. Small and poor as it was, it was
to be my home, and loving faces were around me. I tried to
be pleased, and completely won Barnes’ heart by praising
his garden and white fire-place ; though as I looked round
the shanty — -twelve feet by sixteen — I thought to myself,
can it be possible for me to spend the whole of the rainy
season in this small hovel. Papa seemed to divine my
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
81
thoughts, and said, “ It will not be for long, my wife ; the
contract is out for our house, and it is to be finished ready
for us to move into in a month’s time ; this will then be the
kitchen. So cheer up.”
“Be the dwelling e’er so small,
Having love it boasteth all.”
Barnes had tea, hot bread, beefsteak, and potatoes, smok¬
ing on the table ; and as we had had nothing to eat all day,
the meal was very acceptable. I was surprised to find the
table well supplied with cups, saucers, plates, silver forks,
and spoons. Papa asked Barnes “where he had made such
a rise ?” and was told that some of the officers henring that
the missis was arriving, had sent them for her use till her
own were unpacked, as well as a nice hair mattress to sleep
upon, thinking that the straw bed given by Government
would not be very comfortable, and hearing that our bedding
had been wet on the way up. We were much gratified with
this mark of thoughtful attention ; but it did not end here.
A fe^w moments after, a comfortably cushioned arm-chair
arrived, with compliments, for Mrs. C.’s use, till her own
furniture came up, and I was greatly amused with sheets,
pillow-cases and hot soup from another quarter.
“Well, indeed, old lady,” said my brother, “you are
not so much to be pitied after all; for your husband’s friends
in the camp seem determined to let you want for nothing —
they never thought of sending any nice things for poor me
• when I arrived wet last night, and, I think, 1 would have
been quite as well able to appreciate them, too.” “ I think
so,” said papa, casting a laughing glance at the huge bowl¬
ful of soup the said individual was making rapidly disappear —
his mode of appreciation.
82
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
As Government had already supplied blankets, iron bed¬
steads, &c., I found no difficulty in soon making a comfort¬
able bed, in which we slept soundly. Next morning we
found Barnes had a hot breakfast cooked in his little hut,
ready to bring in as soon as he heard we were dressed.
“Oh, dear?’’ I could not help saying, “I am afraid all my
troubles will be imaginary ones, if Barnes continues to be
such a treasure, and can cook and bake so nicely, and the
people are so kind. I really shall have to give up consider¬
ing myself a heroine, roughing diggings life, all for love.”
“Nous verrons,” laughed papa.
After breakfast, wrn separated, my brother to his gold
office, papa, with bruized face and black eyes — the effects
of the kicks from the horses in the creek, though looking as
if he had engaged in a pugilistic encounter — to sit upon the
bench and adjudicate upon some assault and battery cases,
to be brought before him at ten o’clock — Barnes and myself
to unpack the few trunks we had with us, and arrange about
the household economy. This we lost no time in entering
upon. “ First thing,” said Barnes, “are the rations, ma’am.
We can draw, for the master, the young gentleman and my¬
self, four-and-a-half pounds of fresh beef, or mutton, every
day, and by keeping a book, and putting down all we get,
joints, &c., can pay the butcher, at the end of the week,
whatever we overdraw.”
“Yes, that will do,” I replied. “Now for bread.”
“Well, ma’am, for the three we are allowed thirty pounds of
flour per week. I have no idea how far this will go as vet ;
but bread is to be had upon the diggings, if that will not
make enough. As for tea, sugar, and wax candles, the
allowance is large enough, though I am not so sure about
soap and salt.”
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
83
“ Oh, well, those are trifles. I did not think the rations
were so large. Now, what are we to have for dinner to¬
day?” “ Anything you please, ma’am,” was the reply.
“ Well, then, suppose we say boiled leg of mutton, turnips,
potatoes, and” — “Stop, stop! ma’am, if you please,” cried
out Barnes. “ Where am I to get the turnips and potatoes?
I don’t think there is a turnip to be had upon the diggings;
at least, I have been six months upon them, and never saw
one; and as for potatoes, they are very scarce, for the six
or eight you had last night on the table I paid three shil¬
lings, and it was a great favor to get them at all, as they
were almost out of them at the store.”
“ Oh, dear ! ” I sighed, “ no vegetables—eggs for a pud¬
ding, Barnes?” A shake of the head was the only reply.
“Rice — you can surely get that?" “Yes, ma’am, at two
shillings a pound.” “ Oh, then!” — and I breathed more
freely — “milk; I know you can,” pointing to the half-
emptied milk-jug on the table. With a smile, Barnes said,
“ The milkman can only let me have a pint a-day, and it is
half-a-crown a quart ; but if you like I can make a plum¬
pudding — plenty of suet at the butchers, and raisins and
currants at the store, though very dear.” “Well, then,
that will have to do for to-day — boiled leg of mutton in
rice, and a plum-pudding — not so bad after all,” I said,
handing him some money, which he good-humouredly took,
and walked off to purchase the needful.
As I set to work in good earnest to arrange my house, I
was quite astonished when one o’clock came, bringing with
it papa, my brother, and dinner. The former praised the
appearance of the house, and the latter was not behind in
lavishing encomiums upon the dinner. “ It had only one
fault,” he said ; “the melted butter tasted strong.” “Well,
84
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
sir,” I replied, “you are to blame for that. Who bought the
butter yesterday?” u Oh, dear! I did, and paid five shil¬
lings a pound for it, too.’ This led to a complaint from me
to papa about the difficulty I should have in catering for
them, as well as poor G., as milk, eggs, vegetables, and
other necessaries, were not to be obtained. “I'll see if I
can’t mend matters for you,” he replied. “ I’ll ride over
to Young’s Station, and buy a cow and calf from him.
There is plenty of grass about here. Barnes can milk her,
and perhaps you will be able to save cream enough to make
butter for yourself. We can do without it. I will also try
and buy some fowls, and then you and G. can have plenty
of eggs.” G. clapped her hands at the thought of the
“ dear chickens,” as she called them; and I was not less
pleased at the idea of the cow, all of which we were in full
enjoyment of in less than a fortnight.
In the afternoon I divided my house into two rooms, by
means of a curtain, so as to have a sitting-room, without
showing my bed. One tent was used as bed-room for my
brother, and the other for Barnes ; and with cutting up some
pretty bright chintz I had with me, to make covers for boxes
and benches, and setting them aside for sewing when I had
time, hoped to make my place a snug home. For the
present, I covered the old benches and the arm-chair with
large anti-macassars; and these much-despised articles, by
gentlemen in other parts of the world, were here admired,
and praised, as bringing with them traces of civilization and
womanly refinement.
As tea-time approached, our little darling, who had not
looked well all day, began to show symptoms of serious
illness — high fever and bad cough — and by bed-time was
attacked with a fit of croup. I at once took what measures
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
85
I knew to be right, to give relief to the little sufferer, and
papa went for Dr. Crawford, the Colonial Surgeon appointed
for the camp, who remained with us some hours, watching
over her with great kindness and skill. For the succeeding
four or five days, she hovered between life and death ; but
God mercifully spared her to us, and after having quite
given her up, we had the happiness of seeing her restored
to us again. Dr. Crawford, whose unremitting attention I
shall never forget, attributed her illness to the exposure
consequent upon her wetting in the creek. During her ill¬
ness, the gentlemen of the camp showed much sympathy;
and many more kindnesses and thoughtful attentions did we
receive from those among whom we came perfect strangers.
As the winter finally set in, we were kept close prisoners
to the house, the rain continuing to pour in torrents, and,
at times, for three weeks without ceasing, or our having one
sunny day to cheer us ; and the wind was so high, that we
sometimes feared it would take our little house off its slight
foundation. Papa and Barnes had managed to make some
additions to my comfort, in plastering the outside of the
house with mud, to keep out the rain, making a porch to
break off the draught, and lining the inside of the room with
canvas, and toweling stretched over it ; but even this did not
protect us from the fearful gales and constant rain, which
often dropped through.
As it was more than a month before the workmen began to
dig the holes for the posts of our new house, and then could
not proceed with it on account of the rain, we had little hope
of getting in under some months’ time, and were obliged to
make ourselves as comfortable and contented as w'e could.
This the contrast of everybody else’s case with our own
contributed to do. May-day Hills, or Beechworth, as the
12
86
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
camp was called, was on a high ground — dry, in comparison
with the gold-field, which stretched as far as the eye could
reach in front of it. We were fenced in and guarded by
sentries, and separated by a river called Spring Creek,
which overflowed its hanks in winter, filling the gold claims
near it. Of the diggers themselves, and how they lived, I
shall tell you by and by.
The camp consisted of rows of tents, facing one another,
down streets — officers’ tents, servants’ tents, police tents,
&c. In the middle was the large court-house tent, and a
flag- staff, with a hell to sound the hours — which reminds me
of one out of the many riddles our second servant (who was
quite a character) made to amuse my brother — “ Why is the
Gold Commission like that flag-staff? Because it has a
camp-bell at the top of it.” The stores, of which there
were two or three, were open tents. Mine, therefore, you
see, was the only wooden-walled dwelling, and had the only
glass window for miles. The gentlemen, who often came to
have a play with their pet, G., used to tell papa he was the
only one who had light in his dwelling ; and, I am sure,
away from friends, little brothers and sisters, they often
thought so. A Lieutenant Finch, 11th Regiment, G. made
up to the first time she saw, saying, “ I likes you, Misse
Finch; you’s got such a pretty rose-pink coat.” This
speech brought a pocketful of sweets to the young lady the
next day, which he was well laughed at for, as being so easily
made a victim to flattery. I am afraid G. is not the only
young lady dazzled by the color of a coat.
As the roads became so bad, communication between the
diggings and Melbourne was almost cut off ; and we had
often to wait for the post long after the proper time. This,
p,s a natural consequence, caused a scarcity of provisions
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
87
Flour rose to <£15 the bag ; oatmeal, Is. 8d. the pound ;
coarse salt, Is. 6d. the pound ; split peas, 2s. ; beans, 2s. 6d. ;
dried apples, 3s. 6d. ; and rice, barley, and other necessa¬
ries, proportionably high. The cost of cartage from Mel¬
bourne to Beechworth was £150 the ton. For four months
we had neither potatoes, turnips, cabbages, or any other
greens ; and the trunks, with jams, biscuits, anchovy pastes,
&c., we packed and sent off before leaving Melbourne, were
two months on the road after us, and most of the things
spoiled when they did reach. Situated as we were, our cow
was invaluable. She gave us milk enough for use in abund¬
ance ; and we saved cream for butter, to my brother’s great
delight, enough for all at table. How the butter was to be
made, was an enigma to us at first, without a churn, and
without the possibility of getting one made, out of the hard
wood of the gum-tree, which dyed everything red it touched
when wet ; but we at last managed to convert a large stone
jar, with a wooden cover and dash, into a very tolerable
churn. It is true, it took two hours and a half to bring the
butter ; but then our patience and perseverance had to be
brought into request, and we only relished it the more from
the labor we had had in getting it. Our fowls had cost ten
shillings each at the station from which we had to bring
them ; but as eggs were 12s. to 18s. the dozen, they soon
paid themselves.
My first real trouble was the loss of Barnes. The com¬
pany to which he belonged when he came upon the diggings
having succeeded in opening a promising claim, and needing
his assistance, we could put no obstacle in the way of his
bettering his condition, and, therefore, released him from
his engagement. The poor fellow was as sorry to go as we
were to Jose him ; knowing that I would find it difficult to
88
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
get a man who could cook and bake as he did, before leav¬
ing, he tried to teach me all he could, but as his companions
had only given him two or three days’ notice, this was not
much. Papa at once had many applicants for the vacant
place among the unsuccessful diggers, as the wages were
X150 sterling per annum, paid monthly by Government, and
rations ; but of those who applied, few could either cook, make
bread, or milk, and, at last, he had to engage a respectable
man, merely because he was so, and who, in position far
above that of a servant, knew nothing about the duties of
one. Our efforts in Melbourne to get a female servant had
been quite unsuccessful ; and I thought myself very well off
in having my washing done by one of the women upon the
diggings, at 10s. sterling the dozen — Barnes washing table-
linen and towels. We heard of Ellen’s having had a free
passage to Melbourne, and her taking a place as barmaid in
a tavern, at X36 sterling the year ; but I would not have
had her, even had she been willing to try diggings’ life.
I called the new man, Frederick, in, to find out what sort
of a servant he was ; and his evident respectability, and the
sorrowful way in which he told me he knew but little of such
matters, having been compositor to a large publishing house
in London, but would try and do the best he could, raised a
feeling of pity, that one who had seen such “ better days”
should be so reduced, and I determined to make the best of
it, and see if his desire to learn, and my small experience,
would not overcome some of the difficulties threatening to
diminish our household comforts. As he could not milk,
and, after repeated attempts, failed to learn, we had to em.
ploy a camp servant, who offered to do it if we gave him
half the milk. This, though very extortionate, had to be
submitted to, as it was better than not having the cow
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89
milked at all. The making of bread and yeast, also, he
knew nothing about, and I had to put in practice the hints
gained from Barnes. The yeast turned out well, and great
was my anxiety about my first loaf of bread. I placed the
dish to rise in front of the fire-place, and watched it ; to my
delight, it rose well, and many were the injunctions
Frederick received about the baking, which he did nicely.
I do not think compliments ever gratified me so much as the
praises I got for this loaf of bread did ; and indeed, the
making of it good was of more importance than one would
be inclined to think it could be, where bread could be
bought ; but the flour allowed by Government was sweet
and good — that got upon the diggings sour and bad, and the
bread, besides being adulterated with unwholesome ingre¬
dients, was 7s. 6d. sterling the loaf.
Frederick and I having overcome our greatest difficulty — -
the making of yeast and bread — were bold enough to try
muffins, cakes, pastry, &c. ; and here I found myself more
at home, as the latter I had often made, to please myself, in
Canada ; and how sorry I often felt that I had not striven
to learn more of the really useful, when I had the opportu¬
nity. True, it was never dreamed I would be placed in a
position where I would have myself alone to depend upon,
and, therefore, many things that would have been of use to
me were neglected, as not being necessary where servants
could be had. I had also foolishly forgotten that useful
appendage to a young housekeeper’s library — a cookery
book.
But I must not tire you with too much about my work,
or you will think it was all work and no play with me;
that it was not — happy days I had, and a good deal of play,
too, of one sort or another. I had a melodeon bought in
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New York, and which arrived at Beechworth two months
after us. This made pleasant evenings and pleasant Sun¬
days; and then my Sunday school — but of that I shall tell
you presently. However, even in spite of ill health, I never
could feel the ennui the poor gentlemen complained of.
During the winter they were often at a loss for amusement,
news was scarce, the mails sometimes not being able to run.
For days, and even weeks, they would know nothing of
what was going on beyond the precincts of the little world,
the camp. The last letters were always learnt by heart
before the next arrived, and the little daily incidents of life
were retailed for each other’s amusement. Everybody
seemed to bear an amount of good feeling for his neighbour
I had never seen so exhibited before. An old bachelor told
me, with all due respect for myself, that “ this was owing
to the almost entire absence of the female sex, they being
generally mischief-makers and chatter-boxes” — a doctrine
I am rather disposed to believe in.
I must tell you now how I came to have my Sunday
school. For the first one or two Sundays after I came up,
I missed church very much, and the day passed heavily. I
was grieved also to see that it was totally unobserved by the
people around. Papa had done what the law would allow
him to, in putting down digging and washing gold on the
Sabbath. Further than this he could not go ; and the dig¬
gers took the day to wash and mend their clothes, fell trees,
repair their tents and huts, and when they had not these to
do, spent it in drinking, gambling, and idleness. Of course,
the children of such parents were not behind them, in pro¬
faning a day they knew little of the sanctity of ; and groups
of dirty, idle, mischievous children were continually running
wild all over the diggings. This was very sad ; yet it could
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
91
not be otherwise, where there was no effort made to send a
clergyman to a population, gathered from all parts of the
world, of from nine to ten thousand souls — of whom but a
very small number were women and children. Little babes
came into the world, and were not baptized — went out of it,
and were buried like dogs. Men and women who wished to
be married, had to go over a hundred miles, at great expense
and loss of time, to get to the nearest clergyman. Little as
we could do towards reforming such a state of thin'gs — that
little we felt anxious to try; and, therefore, the Sunday
school was proposed, to rescue, if possible, some of the
children, and, perhaps, through them, the parents. The
difficulty was, how to get scholars. I did not like to enter
any of the diggers’ tents or huts, knowing the bad state of
feeling that had formerly existed between them and the
authorities. This was happily dying away ; yet still coming
from the camp, I felt nervous about getting refusals, and
perhaps insults, and contented myself with inviting one or
two little girls I met to come to me on Sunday, and I would
teach them. “ What a coward you were, dear mama,” I
think I hear little voices saying. “ Yes, my dears, I was,”
and explain it in this way: I was anxious to do right, and
to work for God, too — to do good, and to be good also ; but
it was in my own strength, not the love of Christ constrain¬
ing me.
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CHAPTER X.
Sunday School — Working the Diggings — Burial Ground— Gold License
Troubles.
T SENT to Melbourne for a supply of books to teach with,
A for rewards, and to form a small circulating library. In
this way, I hoped to keep those who came once. The first
Sunday I looked anxiously for the appointed hour — two
o’clock. It brought one nicely-dressed little girl of thirteen
years of age. She told me some of her friends wanted to
come with her, but she was afraid I might not like it. Of
course, she got permission to bring anybody she liked, pro¬
vided they would remain, and came neat and clean. 1 found
she had attended a Sunday school two years before in Syd¬
ney, and was anxious to learn all she could. I had, there¬
fore, one promising pupil. The following Sunday seven or
eight little girls were clustered round the door, waiting for
admittance, all as clean and tidy as possible. I tried to
interest them, and they seemed sorry when the hour came
for us to separate. The third Sunday the number was
doubled ; and, besides, there were some ten or twelve little
boys hanging about the door.
One of the little girls said, “ Please, ma’am, these boys —
Jane’s brothers, and my brothers, and the rest are neigh¬
bours — wanted to come to school, too, but we did not like
to bring them in as you did not tell us to bring boys.” The
boys now seeing that she who had evidently been chosen
spokesman, was pleading their cause, gathered in a group,
looking anxiously in for the result. I felt very sorry, but
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
93
was afraid of boys. I thought myself not strong enough
to cope with turbulent or boisterous spirits, and that the
hours, from two till five, were as long as I could bear, and,
therefore, told the little girl I could not take boys, and,
going to the door, said the same to them, telling them I was
sorry, but if they wanted to learn what was good, they
might share in the circulating library with the girls. They
thanked me, but went away looking sadly disappointed ; and
now I may tell you, that all the pleasure I have in looking
back upon that little Sunday school, is marred by the
thought of having done nothing for those poor boys ; it is one
of the keenest regrets of my life, which I would have been
spared, had I considered these words — Eccles., chap, ix,
10th verse — “ Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with
thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.”
From this out, rain or shine, my house was always full to
overflowing, and never had teacher more quiet, loving and
industrious pupils. Before twelve o’clock, they would be
waiting for admittance ; and it was no use my telling them
not come so early. As I could not begin before two, they
always answered, “that their parents had no clocks, and
they were afraid of being too late.” So Frederick had to
make a place for them to sit in till dinner was over, and I
could let them in the house. Some of them were very igno¬
rant, one girl of twelve not knowing who made her, or who
Jesus was ; but the less knowledge they had, the more
greedy they seemed for it, and the remarks made by some
of them showed thought and much feeling.
In about three months’ time a travelling Boman Catholic
Priest came upon the diggings, where he remained for a few
weeks, administering the rites of his church to those of
13
94
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
his persuasion. From him my Sunday school experienced
its first opposition. Hearing of it, he went from hut to
hut, and warned and threatened the parents not to send
their children to the school of a heretic. Some of them
ventured to expostulate, saying that the children had
learned no harm there, and that it must be good, as it
was all charity. This he angrily told them was a snare
of the devil’s, to catch their souls, and commanded them to
send back the books without reading them. The next Sun¬
day my school was much diminished in size ; on anxiously
inquiring the reason, the children told me about the priest,
and that one little girl, in slyly attempting to go with them,
had been seen by her mother, who threatened to break her
back if she ever attempted to come to school again. I had
never thought of asking these poor little ignorant things
whether their parents were Protestants or Roman Catholics
before. Now, on doing so, I found those left me were
Protestants, and would remain. After a stay of a few
weeks, the priest left, and returned, reinforced with an
assistant. They energetically set to work to gather mo¬
ney for a church, boldly coming to the officers of the
camp to ask for it. On one of them telling him he could
not assist a religion against which he protested, the priest,
with an air of great meekness, replied, “Ah! sir, the days
of such intoleration are passed away ; do not strive to revive
them in this new country” — consistent sentiments from the
lips of a man who had threatened his people with eternal
damnation if they allowed their children to attend my Sun¬
day school.
Much as I disliked the means used to gain their purposes,
I could not but admire the energy with which they pushed
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
95
them, and sorrowed that it would not give the Bible to the
people, but property to those already possessing so much
of this world’s goods. I wished our own , clergymen would
stir themselves a little, to rescue the hundreds, nay, thou¬
sands, of poor souls perishing upon the various diggings,
without a hand stretched forth to help them, and could only
pray, that He who gathered such a harvest together would
send forth laborers to work in it. The Church of England
service, read in the court-house tent by one of the officers,
was the only public reminder of Christianity upon the
Ovens.
One fine day, Papa and I were tempted to walk down upon
the diggings, as I wanted to see the whole process of gold¬
digging and "washing. We found the diggers very obliging;
and they good-humouredly answered all my questions, and
explained all I wanted to know. We saw the process, in its
various stages, as shown by the different states of advance¬
ment to which the numerous holes around us were brought.
Some had just marked out their claims, and, with shovels
and pickaxes, were removing the hardened surface of the
clay ; others, having penetrated a few feet, were throwing
up the soft earth around them; while those still further
down, were obliged to use buckets to remove it, which were
drawn up and down by means of a windlass. The further
they descended, the more laborious became their wTork, not
only on account of the intense heat and confinement of the
atmosphere so far down, but because they had, alternately,
layers of sand, earth, stone, lime, or pipeclay, to work
through, before they could reach the strata containing the
precious metal. This some reached at a depth of eighty or
ninety feet, others at sixty or seventy, while some never met
with it at all ; for after working the holes so far, found them
96
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
to be only what they called shicers — that is to say, not in
the line of the gold vein, and, consequently, without the
gold clay. Upon once reaching the precious strata, it had
to be quickly and carefully dug, and lifted up ; or if left
for a night, the hole would perhaps tumble in, and be half
filled with earth in the morning. The gold clay had then to
be carted, at great expense, from one-half to two or three
miles, to the creek, to be cleansed — which was first done
by the cradle, or long tom, to separate the pebbles and
coarse earth, and then washed out in small panfuls, the
digger standing up to his wTaist in the water to separate all
the clay from it. After all this, the black sand had to be
blown out; it being nearly as heavy as the gold, did not
wash away. With all this labor, at the immense detriment
to health, it chanced sometimes that they were repaid in
washing by finding that the strata had been a rich one ; yet
this did not often happen, the greater probability being
that it would only be about equal to the wages of a laboring
man, and this they were glad enough to get during the
winter season.
The dangers incurred by the digger were not only
those of loss of health and blindness, but they were fre¬
quently cut off in the midst of labor by the sudden and
awful death of being buried alive. On getting down, and
finding a rich-looking strata, they often sunk what they
called tunnels, which was undermining the earth, by digging
holes all round them. This, to permit them to penetrate
further, they supported by pillars of wood, which frequently
gave way, and buried them alive. Papa was often called
upon to hold inquiries upon cases of this sad nature; there
being no coroner, the duty devolved upon him.
Upon the Ovens’ diggings few nuggets were found, the
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
9T
gold being of the finest and purest quality ; that dug from
the bed of the creek — Reedy Creek, in particular — is mixed
with small precious stones, rubies, garnets, and others, which,
though small, are pure and valuable. A gentleman showed
me a few in a match-box, for which he had refused twenty
pounds from a Jew jeweller, to whom he happened to show
them. All the diggers we questioned, upon their success in
mining, gave us for reply, that they had barely made more
than a living, and that fortunes were very rarely made. We
were convinced that it wTas not the digger who profited by
the gold-fields, but the storekeepers, doctors, draymen, and
others, who were employed by them. The enormous profits
made by the storekeepers enabled them to realize handsome
fortunes in a few months’ time ; and although each of the
diggings has its own number of “ quacks,” yet from the
prevalence of scurvy, fever, and dysentery, they have a
practice that would cause envy in the breast of many a
respectable M. D. in large cities, between whom the only
point of resemblance consisted in their knowledge of the art
of charging.
As the digger is a migratory animal, he contents himself
with few of the comforts or even necessaries of life. A
small unlined tent, or rough bark hut, serves for his dwell¬
ing, while his furniture consists of a couple of blankets,
which he spreads on the ground, a kettle, an iron pot, a
pannikin and tin plate, and knife and fork. Of course, his
living is on a similarly rough scale : a damper, made of flour,
salt, and water, unleavened, and baked in the ashes, forms
his bread, which, with tea and mutton chops, or steaks, is
the meal, with little variety every day. When tired of this
easily-cooked food, and unable to change it, he buys largely
from the storekeepers of the sardines in oil, potted meats,
98
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
preserves, and pickles, offered for sale, which runs away with
much of the profits of digging.
Before I had left the Ovens, a great improvement had
taken place upon it. Papa finding that the prohibition of
the sale of liquor by Government on the gold-fields did not
tend to diminish drunkenness, but rather increase it, from
the vile stuff sold in all the sly grog-shops, which the large
fine of £50 sterling, and the confiscation of their stuff could
not put down, being a fruitful cause of crime, petitioned the
Government to license two or three respectable hotels, where
the diggers might buy ale, mild wines, &c., instead of the
vile spirits, which sometimes drove people mad, sold at these
low places. This was granted ; and, before leaving, we saw
two comfortable houses go up, with reading-rooms and large
dining saloon, where the digger could have three comfort¬
able meals a-day for £4 the week, sleeping in his own tent.
Our walk home brought us round past the burying-ground,
already too full, on the top of one of the hills near the bush —
fit finish to a walk upon the diggings — life, such a life, end-
a
*ng in death — such a death ! What bright visions and air-
castles lay buried there. How many a wife, mother, and
sweetheart, who held the foreground in fond pictures, now
mourn those whose last days they were not permitted to
cheer — whose butterfly chase, as far as this world was con¬
cerned, ended in “ vanity and vexation of spirit,” and,
perchance, the lust for gain and gold quenching out the
4 4 light of other days” — better influences," home teachings,
mother s prayers ! God forgive those whose untrue state¬
ments brought them the premature possession of this narrow
strip of ground. Our eyes were blinded looking at the un¬
recorded graves of this lonely wilderness. How many have
reached the promised land, the great future alone will re-
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
99
veal. Quicken us, 0 Lord, in thy ways, and make us deeply
sensible of our responsibilities.
We bad been about three months upon the diggings, when
a question arose as to the non-payment of a license fee.
This tax, or rent, of thirty shillings per month for each
digger, they considered too exorbitant. Some were for re¬
ducing it — some for doing away with it altogether. Although
the police were very vigilant in finding out those digging*
without licenses, yet many escaped for months without pay¬
ing it ; yet the risk and uncertainty they ran was great, as
if caught and brought before the magistrate, they were fined
X5, and made take out a license at once. This money was
used in keeping up the Gold Commission and a police force,
much needed upon the diggings ; and there was no other
equitable way of making the digger, who was in the country
to-day and out of it to-morrow, pay his share towards these
expenses incurred for his benefit, in which the whole of the
revenue from this source was expended. It was necessary
to keep up the Gold Commission, consisting of a resident
and several assistant commissioners at each head station,
with their respective clerks. They were a most useful body,
and one which could not be done without. Their duties
were numerous and arduous. They were liable to be called
upon any moment to settle disputed claims, rights of sluic¬
ing, &c. One had to be kept at the gold office to receive
the gold-dust, weigh, stamp it, and send it off to Melbourne.
They were also Justices of the Peace, and had to assist the
Police Magistrate when more than one justice was required
to sit upon the bench. They had to give out licenses, visit
and report upon any new discovery, no matter at what dis¬
tance from their station — form new ones ; in short, do
business requiring men of talent, respectability, and judg¬
ment. These we certainly had upon the Ovens.
100
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
As to the police force, without which there would be no
security for human life one hour upon the gold-field, owing
to the mixture of races thrown together — the adventurers
and olf-scourings of all countries, and the number of escaped
and freed convicts from Van Dieman’s Land and Sydney,
many of whom take the name and occupation of digger to
cover that of thief and assassin, it required a vigilant and
well-kept-up mounted force. It was true, here the digger
who found fault with unnecessary expenditure, had some
little cause for complaint ; for there were too many police
officers employed — inspectors and sub-inspectors — almost
an officer for every half dozen troopers, generally young,
shallow-brained fellows, proud of their uniform, treating the
diggers overbearingly, and bringing down invectives upon
the Government through its servants. An experienced ser¬
geant would have done the duty with greater satisfaction to
the digging population. As there are always demagogues
found ready to seize upon any public feeling of discontent,
and fan it to a flame, it was not long before the suppressed
murmurs of the diggers rose to threats, and threatened to
come to blows. Meetings were held at Bendigo, Ballarat,
Mclvor, Castlemaine, Goulbourne, and finally at the Ovens.
Speeches were made, and resolutions passed, not to pay the
license tax, and to resist, if an attempt were made to force
them. Petitions were sent to the Governor and Council,
praying that it might be done away with, and that, as a
body, they might have representation in Council.
As the Bendigo delegates, who presented the petition to
His Excellency, reported him wanting in courtesy and un¬
satisfactory in his replies to them, the diggers, burning to
revenge what they considered as fresh proof of hard usage
and insult, refused to await the decision of Council, and
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
101
determined to resist paying the fee at once. Then did the
vacillating policy of the Governor show itself. One moment
troops were sent to enforce the law, the next, a courier
dispatched after them, with instructions not to do so ; then
a letter denying the statements of the delegates, and promis¬
ing them his influence in Council for whatever they wanted,
if they would only keep the peace ; then a proclamation,
saying that the tax would be enforced at all hazards. Eacli
post seemed to bring a contradiction of the promises made
in the former one ; and they finally resolved to use what
they called passive resistance — that was, refuse to pay, allow
themselves to be taken up and sent to jail; and as there
were no jails upon the diggings, it would require two thou¬
sand policemen at least to take them all to Melbourne. The
consequence was, that this stroke of policy gained the day;
for the Governor had to order that the police should not go
in search of any more unlicensed diggers, and, therefore,
none would be taken up.
I have told you all this, that you may understand how
critical our position was. The anxiety was great upon the
Ovens, as we were the furthest gold-field from Melbourne,
and had no troops ; but owing to the masterly guiding hand
of our Resident Commissioner, Mr. Turner, and the respect
felt by the diggers for the Commissioners generally, these
diggings, which had formerly borne the name of the most
disorderly, were the quietest of all, and the diggers themselves
passed resolutions, not only to obey the authorities upon the
Ovens, but to pay the tax till the decision of Council was
made known. Matters continued thus with us for some
months. In the meantime, His Excellency supposing that
the Ovens’ diggers meant no more by their resolutions than
he did by his promises, and that, consequently, the Govern-
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ItOUGII AND SMOOTH.
ment officials were not safe without additional protection,
sent us eighty old pensioners, under the command of Mr.
Finch, 11th Regiment, in case of a rise and attack upon the
camp. This, when you consider the diggers numbered thou¬
sands, would not make us feel much more secure. Happily,
we never needed them.
On the Ballarat, however, a sadder story must he told.
There matters reached such a crisis, that much blood was
r
shed. Troops were sent up from Melbourne to quell the
disturbance, and many innocent lives were lost. God saved
us from such troubles, and our district went on in undimin¬
ished prosperity. Little wooden houses gradually replaced
the tents upon the camp, and large sheds made very toler¬
able stores. Papa got permission to mark out and sell
town-lots : and Beechworth soon gave promise of becoming,
what it afterwards did, a nice flourishing little town.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
103
»
CHAPTER XI.
Opththalmia — House-Warming — Natives — A Pleasant Meeting — - Hot
Weather — Longings for Home.
1 T was nearly five months before we got into our new house,
and our delight was so great, after living so long in the
kitchen, that we proposed giving a house-warming, of which
I shall tell you presently. The house was a four-roomed
cottage, with a wide passage through it, nice for G. to run
in, and a door front and back. The walls of the rooms were
carpeted, and the ceiling white canvas ; the outside wTas
rough deals, and shingle roof. Simple as this would appear,
it cost the Government £1,000 to build. Wood is very
scarce in Australia, the red gum, the most abundant tree,
being too hard, too heavy, and shrinking too fast, to make
boards ; therefore, those of which our floors were made were
of pine, brought all the wTay from Canada, and carted, at
immense expense, up there. You will not wonder, there¬
fore, at the cost of the house ; but this was a necessity, as
any other flooring shrunk and let in snakes, which were very
abundant and very venomous. The tents which were spread
for our old warriors, being found on a damp spot, were re¬
moved ; and on taking up the bark used for flooring, whole
families of snakes were found under them. Red ants were
also a nuisance, and frightfully numerous. In Melbourne,
the legs of the Sideboards and tables had to be stood
in little tin boxes filled with water, over which the ants
could not travel, the only way to keep them out of food.
These luxuries we could not get at the Ovens, so had to put
104
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
up with them, as well as with 4he centipedes and flies ; the
bite of the former is most severe, causing illness and fever.
Frederick killed seventeen the day we moved, concealed be¬
hind the furniture.
Of the flies, 1 hardly know how to speak. It would fill
a whole chapter to tell you what torments they were. They
seemed to be the common house-fly, of a large size, but such
a pest, that nothing would keep a moment with them. Our
blankets and flannels hung out to air, in a short time, would
be fly-blown and alive with maggots; meat had to be killed
and used immediately, else it was in the same state, and beef
and mutton were always tough, from being eaten so soon
after killing. The Bible story of Abraham entertaining the
three strangers, fetching a kid from the herd, killing and
dressing it, and placing it before them to eat, is exactly the
way in which food is prepared in Australia. Then when
upon the table a battle had to be waged to eat it — yourselves
versus flies — for swarms of them were circling over you all
the time, ready for spoils. The moment carving operations
were suspended, a wire gauze cover had to be popped over
the dish, or the flies would cover and blow the hot meat
under your very eyes. Happily for us, we brought a supply
of these articles from Melbourne, and so were saved the
disgusting spectacle which those wdio had none witnessed
daily. Dining in this way did not improve one’s appetite,
you may be sure; but appetite I had none there, in spite of
constant doses of quinine and bitter ale every day, ordered
by the doctor. The latter had to be brought from Wan-
ganatta, thirty miles, on horseback, ami cost there eight
shillings the bottle. One lasted three days, and wTas the
the only thing that kept me up, especially when I had
opthalmia. This very common complaint upon the gold-
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
105
fields is said by some to be caused by the flies laying eggs
in the corners of the eyes ; others, however, attribute it to
the hot sand-storms. In my case, I cannot say what brought
it on, but know that I had a narrow escape from blindness.
For a week, I could not even see a gleam of light ; and the
fear of remaining in that state made me cry so much, that
it aggravated the disease, so that when we moved, G. had to
be my guide, leading me from room to room.
But I am forgetting the house-warming, I had often had
little parties of four or five, after the melodeon came up, in
the old house. Now we wished to ask all our friends at the
same time. The greatest difficulty was, in getting enough
glass and china, for all these things being generally found
broken when they reached the diggings. Of wine-glasses, I
suppose, not a whole one could be found. At the officers’
mess, they were called u no heel-taps,” as they had to be
emptied and turned upside-down after using. Some one
tried the plan of planting his glass firmly in his bread, and
this was looked upon as a grand invention, and adopted
accordingly. I counted my cups, and found I had just
enough to go round, including one with a broken handle,
and a cracked mug. These, I impressed upon papa’s mind,
were to be secured by himself and my brother, to save ex¬
posing our poverty to our guests.
The evening was fine, and everybody came. I was just
pouring out Frederick’s nice clear coffee, when up jumped
papa, bustling to the table, and saying, “ Excuse me, gen¬
tlemen, if I take my coffee first ; my wife charged me to see
that I got the cup with the broken handle, and my brother-
in-law the cracked mug.” At this there was general roar
of laughter, in which, in spite of my discomfiture, I had to
join, and a scramble for these articles, everybody being
106
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
sure their coffee would taste better out of them than any
other. The evening passed pleasantly, with conversation,
music, and singing, several of the officers being accomplished
musicians. But it did not end here for me ; for to the time
I left, it was a standing joke against me, and many were
the sly hits I got from them for my skill in hiding breakages,
“ putting the best foot foremost,” &c., &c.
As summer came on, horseback exercise was suggested,
as being likely to be of benefit to my health. Until I could
get a suitable horse, Mr. Turner, our Ovens’ Governor, lent
me one he had brought from Sydney — trained for his wife,
whom he left there. Mounted on “ Oakstick,” I scoured the
country for miles around, whole parties of us going together,
it being dangerous for one or two to ride alone — as if your
horse was handsome, a distant bushranger might shoot you
down, and make off with it. Sometimes we rode to squat¬
ter’s stations, never entering their houses, though ; some¬
times visited distant diggings, having hair-breadth escapes
in the wild uncultivated country through which we passed.
Beautiful country we sometimes saw, riding up the mountain
ranges, and going through whole patches of the lovely,
sweet-scented flowering wattle, or gallopping over the long
wild prairie-like grass. One evening we got benighted, and
to save a round of five miles, took a frightful hill road, .by
the side of a precipice. The gentlemen scrambled up, lead¬
ing their horses; mine being sure-footed, I was advised to
ride, papa keeping close by. So steep was the ascent, that
part of the way I shut my eyes, and clung, with both arms
round “ Oakstick ’s” neck. When at the ‘top, everybody
declared they w'ould rather “ take the longest way round as
the surest Avay home,” than try such an alpine path for the
future.
KOUGrH AND SMOOTH.
107
One day we saw what looked like a black branch, across
our road. The horses, as we neared it, began to snort, spin¬
ning round and acting in the most extraordinary way, till
one of the party, dashing in his spurs, cleared it by a jump,
calling out, “ It’s only a dead snake after all.” We followed,
and one of the gentlemen measuring it, found it to be twelve
feet long ; smaller ones, living, we often saw. There are
several kinds : diamond snakes (so called from having dia¬
mond-shaped marks upon it), black snakes, whip snakes, and
yellow snakes. The latter are the most deadly. Of wild
animals there are few in Australia, the opossum and flying
squirrel being the most numerous. The diggers were vefy
fond of shooting the former and making beautiful rugs of
them, by sewing their skins together. The kangaroo, of
which you would read a better account in any natural history
than I could give you, are being driven before the face of
civilization, and are scarce. I only saw one. The emu,
also, which is a large and most splendid bird peculiar to
Australia, is disappearing. It resembles the ostrich, but has
shorter legs, shorter neck, and thicker body. This bird
measures over seven feet in height, and runs very swiftly —
the feathers are most beautiful, brown and grey mixed. 1
had a quantity of them given me on my way down to Mel¬
bourne, but owing to their size and the difficulty of carrying
them on horseback — not being able to open my baggage — I
had to leave them behind, which I often afterwards regretted.
The natives hunt the emu as well as the kangaroo, and great
excitement prevails when one is killed — screeching and out¬
cries — as the flesh is a great delicacy with them, and the
feathers are used as aprons and ornaments for the head.
We frequently met the natives in our rides. My first ac¬
quaintance with them was made at Bannalla after my ducking.
108
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
Hearing the sitting-room door open I looked up ; a black
head was popped in and out again. So ugly was the object
that I gave an involuntary scream and covered my face, a
proceeding which evidently caused amusement, for the owner
of the cranium now showed itself, making a low guttural his¬
sing sound, meant for a laugh. Ashamed of myself, I ven¬
tured to look up again, and was introduced by my landlady
to the queen ol a tribe then at Bannalla, said to be handsome.
Fancy a black woman, with hair long and stiff, hanging like
porcupine’s quills over her shoulders, no forehead, eyes long
and half closed, broad nose, mouth from car to ear, with the
contrast of beautifully white and even teeth, and you will
have the picture of a handsome Aborigine — quite a belle.
She was pleased with G., who, wiser than her mother,
saw nothing to be frightened at in her, and made friends
accordingly. Of course she was civilized. In their native
state, as I afterwards saw them, they are a very repulsive
people, said to be tho lowest of the human race, wearing very
little clothing, and subsisting upon grubs, worms, beetles,
roots, herbs, and indeed anything they can pick up, and hav¬
ing many curious superstitions, dreading graves, and in some
tribes never using them, laying out their dead upon a sort of
stretcher, raised on four posts, and letting it rot away. The
moaning of the wind through the forest is supposed to be
voices of the dead, and fills them with horror. Their habits
are so degrading, that any white person found living with
them, is severely punished by law. Though ingenious, and
apt to learn; they are intensely cruel and treacherous. One
man who had been much with them came to live at the Ovens?
where he kept a “ sly grog” tent. One of our camp servants,
named Barney, having been drugged and robbed of his purse?
watch and chain, by him, came to papa and informed. The
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
109
tent was struck and the man off before he could be taken.
Barney fearing the consequences of his revenge, was kept,
at his own request, in a hiding place for some time, and
finally sent off to New South Wales, under the charge of an
escort, for safety. Two days after being left there, he was
tracked, murdered, and his heart torn out of his still quiver¬
ing body, roasted and eaten by his enemy, who boasted of
the fact some days after, when drunk, to the woman who had
innocently lent him her frying pan. He was taken, tried,
and executed, glorying all the time in the accomplishment
of his revenge, so savage had become his nature from the
evil communication of the heathens he had companied with
so long. Truly does God’s word say, “ The dark places of
the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.”
Upon the diggings we sometimes met people who had been
drawn from home like ourselves, in search of some unknown
good, and who were willing enough to acknowledge out there,
that there were worse places in the world than Canada.
One day our feelings were interested in a way both pleas
ing and painful at the same time ; it was raining heavily,
and papa had gone with the servant to attend to the comfort
of a little mare he had just bought. When on his way he
saw some men busy spreading tents, and unpacking waggons.
Determining at once to send them away, as they were tres¬
passing not only on camp ground, but upon our private
property, he went over to them, when he was surprised to
hear a man say in French, “ Voila uncapot d' etoffe du pays,
un Canadien ,” pointing to the grey overcoat he had on, hood
and all, one of our home relics ; and dropping what they had
in their hands, they all ran to meet him. Speaking to them
in French, he asked where they were from ? The sound of
the language seemed to affect them powerfully. Choking
15
110
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
with emotion one replied, “ du beau Canada , Monsieur , et
vous ?” The reply of “ Canada” was received with a wild
shout of delight by these simple children of our soil. Sur¬
rounding him, they overpowered him with questions, his
Answers being received with loud exclamations. Some of
them he found were censitaires , from seigniories owned by his
own uncles, others knew him by name perfectly well. A full
hour did he spend, talking to these men, all seemingly un¬
conscious of the pouring rain. At last it occurred to him
that I might be alarmed at his absence, and he came back to
tell me of the delightful rencontre. Of course they were not
turned off, but were given permission to remain on our ground
as long as they liked. Next day he took me to see them.
On approaching their tents we heard the sound of a violin,
and sat upon a log to listen to the music. They were play¬
ing and singing a Canadian air, “ La belle Canadienne. The
sound brought home so before me, that I started up, nearly
choked, and rushed back to the house, papa himself being
scarcely less moved. In the evening he brought two of the
men to see me, and their politeness, so peculiar to the French
Canadian, delighted me so much, being such a contrast to
the manner of the diggers and working classes in Australia,
and we made up our minds that there were no peasantry in
the world like them ; they were true gentlefolks of nature’s
making.
After a long conversation, and relation of their adventures,
in which love and regret for home, gleamed through all they
said, more brightly than the shining ore did, in the richest
Australian clay, we separated, papa promising to get them
employment, which he was enabled, in a few days, to do, the
building of so many houses in Beechworth causing a demand
for workmen. After this we had frequent visits from our
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
Ill
fellow-countrymen, who would take no steps of any impor¬
tance without the advice of “ Monsieur le Magistrate as they
called him. They even wished him to take charge of their
money, as they were afraid of being robbed, and he had much
difficulty in making them believe that it was safer in the Gold
Commission office than in his hands.
As summer advanced, we found the heat harder to bear
than we had experienced it in the tropics. W e put a large
canvass awning, fastened by posts, as a verandah, in front
of the house, to shade the windows and door ; blinds could
not be made at the Ovens — but it was not much use, the
Punkah of India alone wTould have rendered the heat bearable.
At Rio we always had a sea breeze in the evening, which
cooled the air, and invigorated our exhausted frames. At
the Ovens we had none of that ; what wind we had, coming-
over the land, generally brought hot sand storms with it, so
that vre were better with none ; our shingles curled up with
the heat, and dotted our canvass ceiling all over with half
moons. When rain came on, the weight of wrnter over our
heads was often so great that we feared a u burst,” and had
to prick holes with a carving fork to let the water stream
through into the tubs and basins below. As the season ad¬
vanced, howrever, thunder and lightning storms wrere often
dry, unaccompanied with rain, the clouds seeming to have
exhausted themselves during the winter ; and u7hen the dry
season began, dry it wras indeed ; the suffering cattle had to
be driven from the hilly parts down to the low lands, every¬
where, in search of water and grass, reminding one of the
Bible story of Elijah’s days, wrhen Obediah went searching
for sustenance for Ahab’s cattle. What a beautiful story that
is ? I hope you enjoy Bible stories more than any others.
If you do not your reading is doing you harm.
112
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
As everything became parched up, fires were frequent,
both caused by the carelessness of people travelling through
the bush, and by lightning striking trees, which was very
frequent, and these bush fires surpassed, in their terrible
grandeur and horror, anything I had ever seen. We passed
through part of one on our way down, the thought of which
makes my blood creep even now, and causes wonder how we
ever escaped alive. Blinded with smoke, half choked, gallop¬
ing, full tear along, on, on we went, feeling that each
moment was precious, as it was life, dear life, that was at
stake. Providentially the wind favored and we got out— it
would be cold words to say — escaping a great danger. Surely
we had another cause for giving praise to the Lord for His
goodness, for His wonderful works to the children of men, in
bringing them out of their distresses. — Psa. evii.
Of the fertility of Victoria, and its productions, I have as
yet said little. From our Ovens’ experience we might be led
to suppose that it grew nothing but grass, as vegetables,
potatoes, &e., were not to be had. Shortly before leaving
there, an enterprising drayman brought, all the way from
New South Wales, a load of cabbages and cauliflowers, which
were eagerly bought up, not going far among so many pur¬
chasers. Our share was a cauliflower which cost 10s. That
by careful cultivation almost any thing can be made to grow
in Victoria, I have no doubt, as in the squatters’ gardens I
saw beautiful flowers, very fine vegetables and fruit, especi¬
ally grapes. Of wild fruits, however, there are none, not a
strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, or bush bearing fruit of
any sort. As the portion of land which is under cultivation
is very small, Victoria being one vast cattle run, there is no
supply whatever, for a rapidly increasing population, the
whole energies of the settlers being devoted, previous to the
113
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
*
gold discovery, to the exportation of wool, raising sheep for
that purpose by thousands, they cultivated nothing but a
small garden for their own supply. Wool being the staple
commodity of the country, to protect the wool raisers, or
squatters, as they are called, Government refused to sell
land, locking it up for their especial benefit ; the purchase
of farms became an impossibility, and the consequence was,
that instead of encouraging emigrants, after the gold dis¬
covery, to remain and settle on land of their own in this new
country, those who made money hurried away to lay it out
in a snug farm and homestead in some less exclusive part of
the world, there being no inducement for the really respect¬
able man, short of Government appointments, or in a profes¬
sional capacity, to stay in the colony. So short-sighted was
this policy that ships were leaving daily, filled with those
whom it would have been to the interest of any country to
have kept.
In Canada, on the contrary, every inducement is offered
to settle, land given on easy terms, roads opened, and every
means used to develop the resources of the country, and fill
it with an industrious, respectable population. In Australia
things are different. It is called “ England’s Pet Colony,” and
a fine colony it certainly is ; but as a home, a desirable home
for one’s lifetime, and a place to leave one’s children after
one, we did not find it what we expected it to be, and it was
not to be wondered at, that the often drawn comparison
between the colonies, always ended in favor of the old home
across the sea. Its cold, sharp dry winter, we thought better
than the four or five months of incessant rain and damp, and
the hottest Canada summer, to the sand storms, exhausting
heat, and plagues of flies and other vermin, fever, dysentry
and opthalmia we had to contend with here.
114
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
Had land been purchasable, and our first intentions carried
out, we might have become attached to the country, by own¬
ing a bit of its soil, but we felt as if w'e had no part nor lot
in it, and cared nothing about it. Papa did his work as
Judge of the district satisfactorily, and was paid for it, but
we were pilgrims and strangers there, and a yearning for
home, I am afraid, put a drop of bitter in every cup of sweet
we drank. My health failed fast, and G., from looking
like a fat healthy little pudding, as she once did, had wasted
into a pale, frail little flower, seeming as if a good puff of
wind would blow her away altogether. Dr. Crawford con¬
stantly shook his head, and said that the climate did not
agree with us, and at last told papa that unless change of
air were had, we would both fall victims to it, recommending
Van Dieman’s Land as the best place for both. This decided
an immediate application for leave to go to Melbourne, with
the intention of resigning the Ovens berth altogether, and in
a short time we had left a place which had been our home
for nearly nine months, with a keener feeling of regret than
we had any idea we should have had, on our first arrival at
Beechworth. We were leaving behind kind friends, whose
like we never expected to see again ; our mutual privations,
our peculiar situation and hermit-like life, had been a bond of
union which had drawn us together very closely indeed, and
on parting our discomforts were forgotten, our many happy
days remembered, and we really felt sorry to go.
As soon as it became known upon the diggings that papa
did not intend to return, meetings were held, and an address
drawn up by the diggers to the Governor, petitioning him
not to accept his resignation, as if salary were the object
they ivould supply the sum required over the Government
allowance. An address was also sent us, expressing their
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
115
sorrow at his leaving, and requesting his acceptance of two
very valuable large gold nuggets, to be used in purchasing a
silver tea service, when he got to a place where such things
were to be had, with the inscription they wished put upon it.
We felt this -generosity very much, and I remembered with
compunctions of conscience how ungrateful I had been for
this very appointment. Two public dinners were also given
him by the camp, with such a kind letter, in which the officers
begged him “ to consider wrell before he resigned, and re¬
moved from a place which he had benefitted so much and was
so wTell liked.” He had but honestly done his duty, but his
legal education had qualified him for a post which at that
time was generally filled with military men, or young men of
good family from England, who, with the best of education
and talent, could not satisfactorily do work wrhich a lawyer
alone could understand, as there was a summary jurisdiction
of all cases up to c£50, besides disputes of all kinds, and any
number of criminal cases, and an amount of work to be done
wffiich would startle many of the quiet, easy-going judges in
other places.
My hardest parting was with my Sunday scholars, and
breaking up a school now well filled. On the last day wee
letters and bits of verses were brought me, expressing love
for me and sorrow at my going away ; and in looking round
upon the little loving faces, down many of which the tears
were streaming, I was quite overcome. “Oh! who will
teach us now,” they said. I could only reply “ God.” They
promised me to read very often my parting gift of a Testa¬
ment each, and to remember the Sabbath day. How often
my thoughts travel back to that little band, and I wonder if
they ever think of me now, or better still, if they think of
what I tried to teach them. God will bless His own word,
116
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
and the scattering of copies of it is casting seed upon the
waters, which will bring forth fruit to life everlasting, though
the instrument used be most unworthy. Charlotte Elizabeth
remarks, a We may he like a finger post which points the
way, but moves not one step itself.”
The mother of my first scholar, on calling to bid me fare¬
well, tried hard to make me accept a present of two guineas,
saying “it was to buy a doll for G.” I had to be firm
in my refusal, however ungracious it might seem, as we made
it a point of never accepting the value of one pin’s worth
while we were upon the diggings, lest in such a demoralized
place they might suppose papa open to the bribery which was
the common reproach against officials upon some of the gold
fields. Though I could not accept the gift, the kindness
which prompted the offer pleased me much, and showed me
that those people would not grudge to pay liberally for in¬
struction, if they could get it. I spoke hopefully to her about
the Sabbath school being re-opened before long, as some of
the officers had wives in Sydney or Melbourne, who, now that
houses were built, and matters made comfortable for them,
intended bringing them up to Beechworth, and I trusted if
two or three came, they might carry on the work on a better
and more extended scale than I had done ; and now I think
I must be bringing my long story to a close — what little I
have to tell you about my trip down I shall keep for the next
chapter.
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
117
CHAPTER XII.
Down again — Buck-Jumping Horse — Trees — Flies — Homeward Bound-
Old England — Ho ! for Canada.
1 NEED not tire you taking you down over ground you
toiled so patiently up. In imagination I am sure you
often felt yourself skivering with the rain and cold, and your
bones sore with the jolting of the cart over such bad roads.
Your feelings will be spared now, however, as the weather
was finer, and the roads better than then. You will remem¬
ber that when I went up to the Ovens, winter was just coming
on. We arrived in the colony in April, you know. Now
that I was leaving it summer was far advanced ; June, July
and August being the coldest winter months, and November,
December and January the hottest summer ones. We spent
two burning, scorching Christmas days in our lives in coun¬
tries where holly and ivy, and spruce and red berries are
never seen, and I think I like a visit from old Santa Claus
when he is covered with his mantle of snow, with a beard of
icicles, and all the greater inward warmth, from the outer
cold, the best. The fine, clear, frosty cold Christmas circu¬
lates your blood so fast, and warms your heart so much
towards all around you, but that season in Australia is as
hot and unbearable as any in the tropics can be, and I fancy
the Christmas-loving children of Old England never feel
themselves at home out there.
I am sure you will laugh when I tell you I was not destined
to leave the Ovens without another dip in its waters, and
that I had more narrow escapes from drowning on land than
16
118
BOUGH AND SMOOTH.
I ever had at sea, but I must tell you about that. Papa
and I rode the whole way down to Melbourne on horseback,
in six days. My brother easily kept up with us, driving a
light cart, with a snug place, half seat, half bed, for G.
I had often ridden thirty miles a day before for pleasure, but
you may suppose that at the end of the six days I would he
glad enough to exchange my saddle for any other seat.
On crossing a creek, before reaching Wangaratta, my
horse turned in the middle of the stream, and got out of his
depth, going down with me on his hack. It was only the
work of a minute or two to get free from the pummel, slide
into the water, and be safely landed again, with the help 1
got ; hut from having a thick green veil tied tightly over my
face, and a shade of silk and wire drawn over that again, to
keep off the sun and flies, I was nearly suffocated by the
force of the water driving them into my face. A young
friend who was riding down with us caught my horse, and I
was mounted again, more annoyed at the accident and my
wet state than grateful, as I should have been, for the provi¬
dential escape I had had, and cantered the whole seven miles
on to the hotel without stopping. My friends at Beechworth,
when they heard of the affair, thought I certainly was noc
horn to be drowned. I must say I prefer the dry diggings
to the wet ones, though I don’t like the taste of either.
As our forage allowance was large, we always had the
enjoyment of being able to keep two horses, which we could
not have done otherwise, as hay and oats were fabulously
dear. I do not think Caligula’s horse could have been fed
on much more expensive diet than the Victoria horses were
at that time. Papa’s was an iron-grey — mine a beautiful
large brown, with black spotted haunches, which even the
dreadful habit of branding had not marred. This branding,
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
119
which is universally practiced here upon all sorts of cattle,
is done when the animal is young. They are tightly tied
down, and then marked, with the owner’s initials, with a red
hot iron. As you never see a horse without this brand, even
the most expensive carriage ones, you get so accustomed to
it, that it soon ceases to be an eye-sore ; and when you buy
or exchange an animal, you get a deed of sale with him,
describing him, and giving the initials of his mark. So
handsome Avas this horse, that we were stopped several times
on the way down to Melbourne, and asked if we would sell
or exchange him, the roads being common horse-markets in
Victoria. He had a naughty trick, however, but which he
was good enough never to play upon me, namely, buck-
jumping. As this accomplishment is peculiarly Australian,
I shall try and describe it for you. A sudden rise of anger,
stubbornness, or even, at times, excess of spirits, will cause
them to draw their fore and hind legs together, throw up
their backs suddenly, bursting the strongest saddle-girths,
and pitching their rider some distance over their heads.
My horse did this to my brother one day, and cured him of
wanting to borrow him again. I had made such a pet of
him, talking to him and giving him bits of sugar and bread
whenever I went near him, that he knew me perfectly; and
I got such confidence in him, that though by no means a good
rider, I never feared his buck-jumping me off his back ; but
I suppose he was so accustomed to my light weight and easy
rein, that he got saucy, and thought he ought never to carry
any heavier, for when we reached Melbourne, and sent our
horses to the police barracks, where they were well cared
for and exercised, Mr. Tom would not allow a trooper to
mount him, buck-jumping off every one who tried.
The day after wTe arrived, a trooper came to our quar-
120
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
ters quite in trouble, asking what he should do with this
horse, as he was so vicious he could not be ridden. On
finding that I had come down on his back, he was surprised,
and, supposing there must have been something the matter
with his saddle, went off to have it examined. It was found
not so — the trick was continued ; and as we shortly after left
Melbourne in a hurry, and were obliged to sell our horses
for what they would fetch, Government bought them for the
troop, allowing us almost nothing for Tom, he had so com¬
pletely lost his character, though he was the most expensive
horse of the three, and at Beechworth wTould have sold for
his full value. Poor fellow, I felt sure if I had gone to him,
and patted and talked to him, instead of using whip and
spur as they had done, I could have ridden him with safety ;
but I never saw him again. So dangerous, however, is this
habit in horses, that people are frequently killed by it. A
Commissioner, Captain Blake, one of the most amiable and
accomplished men who ever came to the Colony, met his
death, shortly before our arrival, in this way — his head com¬
ing in contact with the stump of a tree.
Our journey down w^ould have been very pleasant, had it
not been for the want of water and the tormenting flies.
One day we rode thirty miles in great heat, without being
able to get one drop ; and wdien at last we reached a thick
black pool, the poor jaded beasts sunk down on their knees
to drink, and we could hardly get them up again. The
blacks, who suffer much from the dryness of the summers,
horde together in places where the malley-bush grows. This
bush holds, even in the most sandy soil, a supply of fresh
water in its roots. These they dig up, and break into pieces,
when a large quantity of water oozes out — a merciful pro¬
vision of nature wThere springs and streams are scarce. How
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
121
well we understood what a refuge the u shadow of a great
rock in a weary land was,” and the comfort of having
“ water sure” The malley-bushes are surrounded, or pro¬
tected, with long stiff grass, called porcupine grass, but even
that can hardly be called green. How dried up and ugly
the trees did look to be sure — the peculiarity which several
species have, of shedding their bark instead of their leaves,
gives the trunks such a ragged, slovenly appearance, cer¬
tainly not spntcc-looking.
The casuana, commonly called “she-oak,” is indigenous
to Australia. It is not a pretty tree, having narrow-pointed
leaves, hard and dry, as indeed all the species have, being
wanting in that freshness of color and softness which leaves
swept oft’ by the changing seasons have. The gum-tree, or
stringy bark, is the most useful tree in Victoria ; it serves
for firewood, burning well green; it splits easily into slabs,
for the sides of the huts, though it shrinks so fast that it has
to be run in upon grooves, to be driven close every now and
then ; the bark is used for roofing. Strange to say, the
only pine trees we saw in Victoria were a few at Beechworth,
near our own dwelling, the only ones of the kind, we were
told, within hundreds of miles ; they flourished on that
bleak, hilly spot. How we hailed these monarchs of our
own forests. We wondered if they were transplanted like
ourselves, or if they felt more at home than 'we did. The
moan of the wind, as it waved their branches, seemed an
echo of the home sigh in our own hearts.
“ Exiled it grew, ’midst foliage of no kindred hue.”
11 To me, to me, its rustling spoke,
The silence of my soul it broke;
Aye, to my ear, that native tone
Had something of a kindred moan ”
122
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
The flies caused us much suffering all the way down. G.’s
and my eyes were swollen up with them, and the horses often
danced wTith pain, though we kept whisking about a branch
all the time. Poor dumb creatures, how I pitied them ;
their eyes were one mass of sores, and so itchy, that they
were constantly rubbing their heads against each other. I
rode between papa and our friend ; and when I reached my
destination, the skirt of my habit was in anything but a pre¬
sentable state, to go through the streets of Melbourne with,
from the way in which my neighbour’s horse had kept wiping
his eyes upon it. It was light-drab when I got it, black
being too hot a color there ; but between the sun beating
down, and the mud dashing up, it was a funny-looking color
when I rode into Melbourne.
Poor G. had felt the heat very much, and would scarcely
eat anything. Added to her other troubles, she had whoop¬
ing cough; and when Dr. Campbell saw her in Melbourne,
he said she could not possibly live unless we could go to sea
at once. The next two days we wrere very sorely tried as to
what was best to be done. On one side, papa was offered
the choice of two higher appointments nearer Melbourne,
with larger salaries, if he would remain, which the Governor
and many friends urged his doing — these, perhaps, being
stepping-stones to something else, and sending G. and my¬
self to Van Dieman’s Land. This latter I vetoed most
positively. On the other side, was the tempting inducement
of a splendid ship sailing in a few days for England — one
of a line of packets — a return to our old home and friends,
and health for myself and the child again. The last gained
the day; and though everything was done to induce him to
remain, he resisted it all. The Attorney-General wrote to
urge him, if he would not take office, to stay and practice
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
123
in his profession in Melbourne. Many flattering things were
done and written, which I shall pass over, lest I should seem
to be boasting of them to you, the last of which was the
offer of keeping his berth open to him, if he returned to the
colony within eighteen months’ time.
My brother decided to remain in Melbourne.
In a week’s time we had set sail in the ship Admiral ,
Captain Picken, for London, and soon left Melbourne and
the banks of the Yarra, Hobson’s Bay, Port Phillip and
Australia behind us. Our return home was to be round
Cape Horn, having thus made the tour of the globe at our
journey’s end. To make our time right running eastward,
we had to have eight days in one week, keeping two Fridays.
Our voyage home was the reverse, in every respect, of the
one out. This time the Union Jack floated over our heads.
We had ample accommodation — luxurious table, furnished
with ale, porter, and all sorts of the best wines, without
extra charge. The passage-money was ninety sovereigns
each.
The ship was a very fine one, with a crew of forty sailors.
Our passengers were mostly wealthy merchants or squatters’
widows, going to live upon their money and educate their
children in England. The second-class were many of them
successful diggers, who, though they could have well afforded
the passage-money, preferred the freedom of the second
cabin. There was no steerage. Of their extravagance we
had many funny stories from one of our passengers. Mr.
Williamson was a Scotchman, who had been many years
a dry-goods’ merchant in Melbourne. After the discovery
of the gold-fields he opened a second establishment, and
speedily realized an enormous fortune, which he was return¬
ing to the Highlands to spend.
124
BOUGH AND SMOOTH.
We had heard of the real gold slippers a digger had had
beaten out for his wife—their general profligacy in the use
of money ; and scarcely credited it all, till confirmed by his
experiences. Of course, at the Ovens there was not much
opportunity for extravagance, the stores being filled with
the mere necessaries of life, miners’ tools, cooking imple¬
ments, &c. ; but at Melbourne, the splendid jewelry from
India, the costly shawls and curiosities from China, tempted
them to empty their pockets upon articles of which they
knew little of the use. A lady in Melbourne walked the
streets in the plainest possible attire — a successful digger’s
wife in fabrics and colors fit for an oriental princess. One
day Mr. Williamson had been watching one of his clerks
vainly endeavouring to satisfy a red-faced, coarse-looking
woman with some dress-satin he was showing her. Going
forward, and asking what she wanted, he found she was buy¬
ing a dress for herself, but that what had been shown her,
though the best and most expensive in the store, was not
good enough. Subduing a smile, he said, “ I think I know
what you want, madam. You don’t mind cost — your dress
must stand alone.” “ Just so, sir. You are a gentleman,
and know what will suit a lady.” A piece of rich waistcoat
satin, which had been lying by for a couple of years, too
expensive to be saleable was then produced, which suited
exactly, though, as ho laughingly said, how ever she got it
made into a dress he did not know, it was so stiff and heavy.
A day or two before we sailed, a sad occurrence took place
in one of the banks. A very wretched-looking man, not
long out from the old country, who had evidently tasted the
very dregs of the cup of poverty, came into the bank, bring¬
ing with him the results of a month’s successful digging.
He had opened what is called a pocket, and washed out a
ftOUGH AND SMOOTH.
125
large quantity of gold, of the full value of which he was
not aware. He had carried his hoard down to Melbourne on
foot — part tied in an old stocking, the rest stowed away
about his person, and went straight to the bank, emptying
it all upon the counter, and wishing it changed into bank¬
notes. As pile after pile of the bills were laid down for
him, he, who perhaps never knew what it was to possess a
X5 note in his life before, could not believe his eyes. Much
excited, he cried, “ Is this all mine — and this, and this?”
as the piles were being increased ; and just as the last was
put into his hand, he uttered a loud exclamation, and fell
dead. The surprise, the joy had been too great a strain,
and had snapped the frail cord of life in twain. Poor man,
his hard-earned wealth had been hardly earned indeed.
Off Cape Horn we saw some splendid icebergs. The run
round there, if in summer, gives you light night and day —
if in winter, nearly all darkness. We had a beautiful lunar
rainbow once or twice, with all the colors and brightness of
a solar one all round the moon, just as the storm-rings we
sometimes see are. Off the Falkland Islands we got the
most frightful storm we had yet experienced. Our cabin
was a saloon upon deck, and the waves broke into it, fright¬
ening us all very much. The gale lasted two days, and then
fell suddenly, leaving us in great danger from the high waves
rolling us about, without enough wind to steady us. In the
tropics we were becalmed for three weeks, which lengthened
our voyage considerably, as we otherwise would have made a
quick run.
Across the line once more — how delighted I was to see
my old friends Orion and the Great Bear, with his dipper,
again. The Magellen clouds and southern cross had been
beautiful ; but the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere
IT
126
BOUGH AND SMOOTH.
have not nearly so many stars of the first magnitude as the
northern has ; for that reason, I think the southern cross is
more thought of than it would be were it on the other side
of the Equator. In ninety-five days we sighted land — the
land of old England. What a joy that was. In the chan¬
nel, papa and another gentleman went off in a pilot-boat,
landed at Deal, and ran up to London by rail, getting there
twenty-four hours before us. This time was so well employed,
that arriving we found ourselves taken to nice lodgings in
Russell Square, with dinner all ready for us, and friends,
hunted up.
Pleasant as it was to land in England, we parted from the
Admiral and her officers with regret. Everything possible
had been done to make our voyage one of pleasure and com¬
fort by the good captain, who well merited the polite little
address given him by the passengers on leaving. Our Mel¬
bourne friends, the B.s, went out in one of Green’s packets,
with a very cross, crusty captain. He had made himself
very disagreeable to the passengers till within the last few
days of their arrival, when, wishing to wipe off old sores and
remembrances, he became as cringing as he had before been
rude. Perhaps he hoped to get an address ; if so, in this he
was not disappointed. A wag on board got up a mock one,
saying that a piece of plate accompanied it. When pre¬
sented in due form and read by the captain, he appeared
quite overcome — “ He had not expected that — most certainly
not ; indeed, he had not deserved it,” &c. The paper parcel
was handed him, containing the supposed present. On open¬
ing it, with trembling hands, what was to be seen — a piece
of plate, undoubtedly it was, but a bit of a china one ! The
mortified man let it drop, jumped up, and rushed to his cabin,
too indignant to speak. I did not hear whether the revenge
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
127
of playing this practical joke had been followed by any
results on his next voyage, or if it had taught him the lesson
they supposed it would ; but hope you will agree with me in
thinking it was a cruel bit of spite, and not to he com¬
mended — the reverse of the golden rule we are so apt to
forget.
You may suppose, that after living in Australia, we
would enjoy our visit to England very much — such a lovely,
finished-looking country it was, every bit of its soil turned
to advantage ; and so quiet and peaceful-looking, it seemed
a fit land to be ruled by a queen. We remained nearly a
month sight-seeing in London, and would have liked to have
stayed longer, hut we felt anxious to end our wanderings,
and get home. From London we went to Liverpool, stopped
a few days at the Adelphi Hotel, and then took passage for
Canada on board the steamer Cleopatra , hound for Quebec.
We promised ourselves a ten or twelve days’ run, but, instead
•
of that, were twenty-eight days out. About half-way across
the Atlantic, we had so frightful a storm, that we were nearly
lost. A rough wave swept over us, taking with it our kitchen,
ice-house, all our fresh provisions and bulwarks, and washing
into the steerage, broke a sailor’s leg, and stove in the side
of a berth, killing a little child of eighteen months, just
hushed by its mother to sleep.
So damaged was the vessel that wTe were obliged to put
into St. John’s, Newfoundland, for repairs. We leaked so
much from the straining of the storm, that we had to stand
upon racks in our state-rooms, to keep us out of the water,
and almost every article of clothing, as well as the bedding,
was wet. As we undressed at night we had to bundle up our
clothes, and hang them high, else they would be floating in
the water before morning. Poor G. was the greatest sufferer
128
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
from all this ; her whooping-cough had returned at intervals
the whole way home, and though the voyage had improved
her wonderfully, she was still very feeble. A Mrs. M., a
widow, from Quebec, had come on board at Liverpool with
two children, as first cabin passengers, one of whom she said
was not well, but concealed the nature of the malady. In a
couple of days time we found out that one had recovered from
measles, the other was just sick with it. As G. had been
trotting about the cabin with these children, she speedily
took the disease, and had one of the worst forms of it. Great
indignation was felt by all on board at the woman’s duplicity
(many of whom afterwards became sufferers from it), and
much sympathy for the poor little first victim of her cruelty.
Every effort was made to alleviate her sufferings. We had
an excellent doctor on board, but the wet state of the mat¬
tresses and bedding, which it tvas impossible to dry, made
her case very critical. A small ladies’ saloon was kindly
given up to her, and two young ladies insisted upon taking
turn about in sitting up with her every night, as she was
so restless and exacting, I had to sit holding her hand all
day. The Captain was kindness itself. The little monkey
had found her way into his heart, and imposed upon him,
coolly making all sorts of requests, being sure of having them
granted. One day, on taking his seat by her side, and
asking how she was, she pettishly said, “ Sick, very sick, his
bad big light hurt her eyes,” pointing to a swinging lamp
screwed into the panel, and his “bad big noise hurt her head,”
meaning the tramping of the sailors and pulling of ropes over
head. He laughed, and in half an hour had a place railed
off above, so that nobody could walk there, and sent the
carpenter, against my remonstrances, to screw the lamp into
the beautiful white and gold pannelling of another corner. I
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
129
was really afraid all the petting she got would spoil her. She
had been the smallest child on board the Admiral able to run
about, and was the smallest one here, and kind-hearted peo¬
ple are always found upon a voyage who make too much of
little children, giving you some trouble afterwards in ridding
them of the high notions of their own importance acquired
then.
We were two days in St. John’s, and were not sorry for the
cause which brought us in, as it gave us an opportunity of
seeing a place we should never have seen in any other way,
not that there is much to be seen in St. John’s; such a funny
scrambling sort of a little town, muddy streets, muddy side¬
walks, muddy everything. The people, however, were very
hospitable and kind, taking an extraordinary pride in their
really beautiful little Cathedral. Every new person to whom
we were introduced invariably put the question, “ Have you
seen our Cathedral?” The Archdeacon in the gravest
manner possible told me “ it was the finest church in the New
World. On my looking incredulous, visions of Trinity
Church, New York, rising before me, he qualified it with,
“ at least we think so." I did not doubt that.
The Bishop had a special thanksgiving service held for our
benefit, at which we all attended, save Mrs M., who told us
“she had other work to do,” the final completion of wThich
revealed itself the day wTe reached Portland, when she mar¬
ried our purser. They had never seen each other before she
came on board, but her assertions of being very rich had
evidently captivated the young man, who was her junior by
many years, and of a good family at home, and quite pleas-
ing appearance, while she looked old enough to be his mother.
The gentlemen, who all along believed it to be a flirtation,
used to tease him very much, telling him as soon as he became
130
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
“ papa” to those children they “ begged he would buy pocket
handkerchiefs for them,” articles evidently considered as
superfluities in that quarter. Afterwards, when h© looked
radiant in smiles, kid gloves, and happiness on his wedding
morning, they wished they could have wiped out of his
memory all the saucy things they had said to him. A day
or so after the marriage she started for home, to have her
house ready for her husband, who wTas to follow after the
ship had unloaded. Evidently his expectations were not
realized, for we heard some months later of his leaving her,
and finally separating altogether, a sad termination to the
very romantic courtship we so often laughed at on board ship,
thinking she had made him the victim of a disease worse than
measles.
After leaving St. John’s, our ship had all sorts of escapes.
Running at the rate of ten knots an hour in a dense fog, one
day we came upon some floating ice, and knocked a hole in
her bows. Happily she w’as divided into compartments ; this
one was shut off, and the donkey-engine put to work. The
steerage passengers were all brought aft, and the bows raised
slightly, a blanket stuffed inside, and a piece of iron fastened
out, and we went on again. The water gained so fast, how¬
ever, that the engine had to be kept pumping out the rest of
the voyage. Another day we were sitting at dinner, when
a middy came running into the cabin and whispered, “ Break¬
ers ahead, Sir,” 'into the captain’s ear. It was an Irish
whisper, and wras caught up and echoed by the passengers?
who soon cleared the table, leaving the ladies, of whom there
were only five, in consternation below. One of them, a young
girl, turning to me and looking very white said, “Oh! -I
shall faint, Mrs. C.” “Please don’t,” I replied, “wait till
we are out of danger, and then faint away as fast as you like.’
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
131
This provoked a smile, and she forgot to faint, when the
gentlemen came down and told us all was right again. The
ship was put about, the fog rose like a curtain, and there was
the terrible Cape Race frowning down a short distance in front
of us. Our escape certainly was a miracle. Another time up
lifted the fog, and we counted eighteen vessels all around
us. The weather continued thick, murky, with heavy squalls.
We tried the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and found so much ice,
and were in such a disabled state again, having broken the
fan of our screw, and something being wrong with the engines,
that the captain decided to run to Portland, and send us
all on by rail to Quebec.
After a heavy squall one evening, when the waves were
running high, papa, who had been skirting the horizon with
his glass, told the captain he saw what looked like a wreck
in the distance. It was found to be so. W e bore down upon
it, and saw signals of distress out and minute guns firing.
With difficulty a boat was lowered and reached the sinking
vessel, now rolling so heavily that we feared every roll she
would go over, and be seen no more, snatching from our very
grasp the precious lives we were so anxious to save, but no
time was lost ; several trips of the boat were made, noble fel¬
lows volunteering for the dangerous work, the brave hearts
of Great Britain’s sons being the brightest jewels of her
crown. The captain, sailors, and all on board were saved,
even including a big black Newfoundland dog and a pig. The
ship was carrying a cargo mostly of iron, and no passengers,
and sunk not long after we left her. We hurried to get at
a safe distance lest wo should be endangered by her going
down. She had been dismasted in the storm, became a hulk,
a jurymast was rigged, but she leaked so fast that they had
been three days and nights at the pumps, and had finally
132
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
given up hope, as the water gained so upon them pumping
had become useless. The captain was a man of prayer, and
had never ceased to entreat the Lord to send help. They
were finally commending themselves to His mercy, all hope
over, when we appeared in sight, the first sail seen by them
for several days. What a joyful sight we were to them. The
captain was much overcome when we shook hands with him,
and welcomed him to our deck. With choking voice and
streaming eyes he said, “My friends, I have a wife and six
helpless children at home.” Ho had lost everything belong¬
ing to him — poor man — on board, and had been part owner,
but that would be small trouble to his dear ones, himself being
spared. The Lord had been better to him than his fears,
and enabled us all to realize the expressiveness of His own
word as we read that night.
“ They that go down to the sea in ships that do business
in great waters. These see the works of the Lord, and His
wonders in the deep. For he commandeth and raisetli the
stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They
mount up to the heaven ; they go down again to the depths.
Their soul is melted, because of trouble. They reel to and
fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s
end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He
bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm
a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they
glad, because they be quiet ; so He bringeth them into their
desired haven. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His
goodness, for His wonderful works to the children of men.”
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
133
CHAPTER XIII.
Home Again.
MY last chapter must be very short ; I am nearly finished.
One more striking instance of our Heavenly Father’s
care manifested to us, and the story of our wanderings is
done ; the only charm of which has been its truthfulness.
As our party on board the Cleopatra was so increased
with all the extra mouths we had to feed, and having but
badly made up our provision losses at St, John’s, we were
very glad of the pig which was killed next day.
G. begged her friend the captain to tell her why he saved
the pig’s life, only to kill it. Our new cabin passenger,
Captain Pugsley, in whom, you may be sure, we all felt a
great interest, did not escape the contagion of the measles,
but was so prostrated by it, that, on landing, he had to be
taken to the hospital in Portland, with two or three others,
suffering from the same cause, and left there.
We were very glad to find ourselves safely anchored in the
beautiful liabour of Portland. We had had so many frights,
we almost feared we never would get safely to land again.
Next day the passengers were sent on by train to Canada. I
had been so worn out by anxiety about G., that I was ill all
the night before, and the doctor positively forbid our at¬
tempting to go with them. This hindrance I felt to be a great
trial at the time, though it turned out to be one of the most
remarkable providences of our lives. Two kind friends, Col.
Clements and his daughter, remained behind with us to keep
18
134
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
us company, the young lady being one of my child’s devoted
nurses. The following morning we started all right again,
G. well wrapped in blankets, and largely supplied with good
things for her journey by the captain.
Before coming to Island Pond, we passed the debris of a
railway train, several carriages overturned and off the track,
baggage car broken, and the locomotive, some distance fur¬
ther, tumbled over in the water, shewing that a serious acci¬
dent had taken place. On asking when it had happened, I
could get no satisfaction — nobody seeming to know, till at
the journey’s end, when I was reminded of my murmuring at
our detention of the day before, and told I had great cause
to be thankful for it, as that overturned train was the one
which had carried on our fellow-passengers. It had run off
the track towards evening, far from houses or help. The
poor travellers had to stay all night in the cars, huddled
together ; no means of making a fire ; the ground frozen
hard all round them ; nothing to eat, and constantly in dread
of some night train running down upon the carriage still left
upon the track. Happily, nobody had been seriously hurt.
It was morning before help could be got, and then the loco¬
motive sent could only bring that carriage on, which had to
be filled with both cabin and steerage passengers also, the
latter of whom, coming from a long voyage, well earned the
title of the “ great unwashed.” The cold obliging them to
shut the windows, the closeness of the atmosphere became
such that a lady fainted. Had G. been in that train, she
must have died, as she was too ill to bear such exposure.
Cowper’s beautiful verse came home to us : —
“ Judge not the Lord by feeble sense.
But trust Him for His grace :
Behind a frowning providence ,
He hides a smiling face.”
ROUGH AND SMOOTH,
135
A Sunday at Island Pond, another on the way, and we
were home, home again, scarcely able to realize it, after
being wonderfully kept, and brought through trials and dan¬
gers, by r,o means slight, on our journey round the world,
and an absence of about two years. Our trip back had been
shorter than the one out, for, including our month in Eng¬
land, we were only a little over five months from Melbourne,
while, you remember, we left Quebec in September, and did
not reach Australia till the following April.
The third day after our return to Quebec, our dear H. was
born, a pleasant welcome home for us, and a richer gift than
all the gold of Australia would have been. The old nest was
again established, and the wree birdies throve ; the parents
neither regretting the experiences of their southern migra¬
tion, nor their flight north towards home, and rest again.
And now, I think, a few short extracts from letters re¬
ceived from a Beechworth friend, after our return, would be
of interest to you, as showing the progress and prosperity of
that place. They were written a year after we left : —
“ My Dear Mrs. C.,— *******
I have much satisfaction in being able to inform you, that
the good seed sown by you in the hearts of the Beechworth
children seems to have brought forth fruit one hundred fold.
It would do you good to see the large number attending the
Denominational School daily ; but Sunday is the crowning
day of all, — then, indeed, the children flock from all parts
of the diggings, and their pretty voices may be heard united
in praise and prayer to God. What a change from their
forlorn state, when your heart first yearned towards them !
I am sure it will also gratify you to learn that several of your
scholars came to make enquiries after you, on hearing I had
had a letter from Mr. C. Need I add how delighted they
13G
HOUGH AND SMOOTH.
were on learning that you had not forgotten them, and that
you were comfortably settled in your own home, after the
rude and stormy absence which characterized your stay in
this colony. Mr. C. will give you a history of this place
since your departure. I need only add, that it daily im¬
proves, and were you now here, you would find it a tolerable
place for a new colony. Give my love to G., if she remem¬
bers me. I hope little baby is well, and that your health
has improved since your return,” &c., &c. * * * *
From the same friend to Papa : —
“ My Dear C., — * * * * *****
For a long time after your departure, I felt the great loss
sustained by your absence, because your successor was quite
your reverse in everything that tended to keep up a good
understanding between us. Mr. W., who replaced you, has
now been transferred to Ballarat, and a Mr. B. appointed to
this Bench, who is well spoken off.” [Here follows a list of
histories of the movements of personal friends, ending with
that of our most intimate one.] “ Jones is in the greatest
desert the district can afford, at a place called Sandy Creek,
on the Little River, about 40 miles from Beechworth, where
he can obtain neither meat, milk, bread nor vegetables. He
looks like a wild man when he visits here. He has only a
clerk in that miserable place. * * * *
“We have not such a paucity of ladies on the camp now
as in your time, Mrs. Turner, Mrs. Barkley, Mrs. Morphy
and Mrs. Hall being residents. Mrs. Turner is an elegant
little woman, whom every one admires, because of her good¬
ness of disposition and agreeable manner. I have so often
wished Mrs. C. had remained, were it only for the pleasure
of Mrs. Turner’s company. * * * * *
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
137
“ Beechworth has improved very much since your stay
here. It now boasts of six hotels, several large stores, look¬
ing like well fitted-up shops. A Wesleyan chapel, a school
and an assembly-room are amongst its public buildings ;
while the new post-office is a conspicuous object for admira¬
tion. A local press has also been established, and I send
you the first number of our Ovens and Murray Advertiser ,
edited by our enterprising friend Nixon. * * * Several
small gold-fields have been discovered, but none to rival the
old place. * * It is gratifying to observe that the ma¬
jority of the miners flow erect substantial wooden huts, as
if intending to remain for years. I mention a great many
of these little trifles, because I believe you to be very much
interested in everything that relates to Beechworth.
“Politically, the colony has undergone great changes. * *
I don’t think I mentioned that our gaol has been at last
completed, and a stockade erected round it. Sergeant
Quirk is the gaoler. He has his wife and sister here. Your
man Frederick I know nothing of, save that he left Beech-
worth immediately after your departure.
“ Dr. Crawford has just returned from England, where he
has been since you' left, having been recalled by the Ad¬
miralty. He has now settled at Beechworth for private
practice, to the great damage of our District Surgeon alias
Assistant-Colonial. The license fee is doomed, and I fear
the entire Gold Commission will fall to ruins. The House
have confined the Government to <£1,300,000 for salaries for
the ensuing year, and the sum last year was £2,800,000, so
a corresponding reduction must take place in the numbers in
each department. Melbourne is in a wretched state. Every
trade is dull; bankruptcy is the natural consequence. Few
are able to brave the stagnation in trade. Just fancy per-
138
ROUGH AND SMOOTH.
sons purchasing in Melbourne goods shipped from England,
and sending them hack again, expecting twenty per cent.
This is a fact, and still on the diggings here, there is little
change.” * * * * * *
We have heard frequently of Beechworth since this letter
was written, and always of its increasing wealth and pros¬
perity. Now it is one of the most thriving towns in Vic¬
toria. Think of the contrast as it was when I first saw it —
with nothing but rows of tents, and my little house the only
wooden-walled dwelling in it. I suppose a town never sprang
into existence faster than Beechworth did.
And now, in conclusion, dear children, I would remind
you that you are all on a journey, and have both u rough
and smooth” to travel over. “ May your feet be shod with
the preparation of the Gospel of Peace.” The world may
be compared to a great gold-field, with its denizens eagerly
hunting for wealth ; and though the word of God and ex¬
perience constantly teaches the unsatisfactory nature of the
search, the warning is unheeded, the lesson unlearned.
May you be given wisdom from on high to guide you to
greater riches than this world’s gold-field can offer — even
the pearl of great price; so that life’s journey over — the
dark river crossed — you may enter into the full enjoyment
of a home in the Promised Land, the Heavenly Canaan
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
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